A Lucky Charm
by autotomyton2
Summary: A TailsXNicole novella set in the pre-'Worlds Collide' Archie Sonic universe. All characters are property of SEGA and Archie Comics.
1. Chapter 1

**PART 1 - A Love Unlived**

 **CHAPTER 1 - New Feelings**

It was two o'clock in the morning, the soft white light of a full moon streaked the sky and highlighted the edges of meandering clouds. The empty streets of New Mobotropolis were bathed in a pale silver glow, its buildings silhouetted against the faintly luminescent blue-black of the night sky. Autumn had taken hold and the warmth of the day had faded. A crisp breeze scattered shadowy brown and red leaves across the footpath. The breeze gently ruffled Nicole's hair.

She strolled calmly and soundlessly but inside the young lynx was charged. Eyes wide and bright she stared straight ahead, lost in the buzzing energy of her own were going right; really right!

It had been four months since the great battle and Robotnik had finally been defeated, once and for all. Nagus had fled, chased from the kingdom by Sonic and the people had cheered loudly as the rightful King Max triumphantly re-ascended his throne. A grin spread across Nicole's face as she remembered the moment that she had seen Sally again, her body de-roboticized and her mind back to normal.

Nicole's stopped momentarily and looked around at the empty streets; her smile faded slightly as she remembered the anger of some of the councillors during her hearing. Her friends had fought so passionately to win back her freedom and the control of the nanites. Her brief elation had turned to sadness when she had seen the crowd of angry people outside chanting and booing her. The painful memory hit her hard and she couldn't help but recoil slightly; there were still many who feared her, she could tell by the way they stared. She tensed up and then breathed out a sigh and relaxed, _Nobody around to stare at night,_ she thought to herself and resumed her stride.

Minutes drifted by as the young lynx strolled aimlessly, staring wistfully upwards, lost deep in thought. She walked and walked, and might have walked forever but for a cloud passing over moon darkening the path, forcing her back to reality. _Where am I?_ Looking around once again, Nicole was somewhat surprised to find she had walked much further than expected. This was the outer suburbs. Here she could hear the faint sounds of snoring; people sleeping in their cozy houses with big grassy yards full of trees and flowers. In the city center the lights stayed on all night, but here, only the moon. The moon... and one distant house, small with a big garage. _Isn't that Tails' house?_ thought Nicole as she approached, _I wonder why he's up so late?_

Nicole made it to the edge of the garden and peered through the bushes, she could see into the long hangar-like garage of Tail's workshop. Tails often stored his plane, the Tornado, under the cover and tonight was no exception; the aircraft's striking double wings almost scraped the roof. Assorted mechanical parts cluttered up messy shelves and cabinets along the walls and in the far corner a bright white draftsman lamp shone on a desk covered in sketches, tools and gadgets. Tails was nowhere to be seen. _Maybe he accidentally left the lights on?_

As Nicole stood on the street and pondered the empty room, she thought about her friend.

 _Tails was so passionate in the council chamber when he was fighting for me. Did I ever get to thank him? He's always been so nice to me, ever since I've known him. And yet I don't really know him that well. He's always really kind and friendly to everyone but he's also sort of quiet and reclusive. I wonder what he works on when he's alone? I wonder what he was working on tonight?_

Nicole suddenly jumped backwards; _did something on the table just move?_ she craned her head to get a better look but the thick bushes obscured her view.

An internal battle raged. Of course, being a computer, it only took a second but to Nicole it felt like a very long time. _Should I trespass?_ Nicole's, polite, proper and slightly nervous side, was shocked by what she was considering but she was rapt by new and exciting emotions; adventurousness, curiosity and… something else she couldn't quite define.

"He would probably want me to turn off that light" _,_ she whispered to herself, cringing internally at the lameness of her excuse. With a guilty glance over her shoulder she disabled the visual projection of her body and turned invisible. Taking a deep breath, she counted to three and crept forwards.

Entering the garage, the impressive frame of the Tornado commanded her attention and she couldn't help but admire It's sleek style. Tails' skill and design flair had really made it something special. This version of the tornado had actually been built by her nanites after the battle but Tails had given her the design and, it was clear as she drew closer, made a few modifications. _I hope he didn't resent me doing some of the work,_ she thought as she admired his new additions. Nicole was just about to lean over to look in the cockpit when she froze. A surprised voice came from behind her.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Nicole, spun around to see Tails with a frown on his face, staring right at her. Her stomach dropped and she felt sick, _Tails is still awake! Oh god_ _what have I done? Stupid stupid stupid!_ Nicole opened her mouth to apologize but the words wouldn't come.

"I thought I'd turned you off" chuckled Tails as he breezed past the surprised lynx without so much as a glance and rushed to tend a device on table, the same device that Nicole had seen before. It was moving again!

A wave of relief washed over Nicole and she stood in place for at least a minute as her shock abated. Barely daring to move she slowly, carefully turned to get a better view of Tails who was now working diligently at the table and was clearly, _thank goodness!_ unaware of her presence.

Nicole felt a strong urge to run but she couldn't, her curiosity had doubled, biting her lip, she silently tiptoed up next to Tails.

 _What is that thing?.. Of course!_

Looking over Tails' shoulder Nicole could see the various pieces of Tail's robot dog T-pup were spread out haphazardly across the desk, some parts were still connected to the main body and all of them were moving around wildly as if they had minds of their own. Tails was exasperatedly struggling to affix a still-wagging tail back to the robot's body.

"Where did your darn remote control get to?" he muttered to himself, giving up on his fiddly task for a moment to scour the surface of the bench. As he bent over to look under the desk, T-pup's electronic tongue licked him on the ear and he bolted upright bumping his head on the table in the process.

"Ow! grrrr". He winced and rubbed his head, then leapt sideways to save a leg that was about to jump off the table. "T-pup, stay still!" he growled and flailed comically, desperately trying to collect the now scattering bits and body pieces which seemed to be actively trying to flee the workbench.

Nicole stifled a giggle. Raising her hand to her face to cover a cheeky smile. _Tails is so funny when he's frustrated_. _He's really..._ ,She paused, unable to bring to mind how she felt. A dictionary search had returned a word she'd never considered before _... 'cute'... wait, what does that mean?_ The intense guilt had gone now and was replaced by a slightly giddy thrill. Gently, so as not to make a sound, she perched herself on a neighbouring bench and watched intently. _I shouldn't do this... but it's so fun!_

Tails fumbled and muttered to himself for a few more minutes but was making little progress. After a while he stood back and sighed, with his hand on his forehead; he rolled his eyes and watched the leg that he had just attached wiggle, then wobble, then summarily unscrew itself. "Ugh, this is hopeless. I don't have time to build another remote" he groaned and frustratedly fumbled in a toolbox before grudgingly returned to work.

Nicole noticed the dark patches under Tails' eyes and she suddenly felt very guilty again. _Poor Tails he must have been doing this for hours! If only I could help..._ an idea struck her that filled her with nervous adrenaline (or the artificial version of that). Silently alighting she tiptoed over to where she could see the blueprints and, carefully leaning to avoid contact with Tails, studied the plans. She looked at her friend, nodded to herself and started to concentrate.

 _Alright little guys here goes nothing_.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2 - Four's a Party**

Sunlight streamed through a small gap between closed curtains and split the darkness like a golden wall. It was late morning and the day was warm, _too warm!_ Tails turned uncomfortably and kicked off his doona. Lazily he watched the dust particles swim in the sunbeam and thought about the week he had had. Things were finally going right, really right!

 _What are the chances of all that missing stuff showing up? The remote control, the chaos energy calibrator; I didn't even know I had a spare sensor assembly! Then there was that time I couldn't remember something and the answer was in the first book I found, the broken soldering iron that suddenly started working again. heck I'm sure even my coffee has tasted better the last few days!_

He smiled and glanced at the clock on his bedside; _Heh 12:05, man it was another late one last night_ he thought as he lay comfortably back on his pillow, _Wait!_ _12:05, Oh no! I'm late for lunch with Sonic and Sally!_

Bedsheets flying, Tails leapt up and dashed to the bathroom, splashing his face with a handful of icy water and chasing it with a towel. He glanced at the shower and then back at the clock. _Damnit No time! deodorant will do… oops too much!_ Slinging a satchel over his shoulder he dashed out the door and briskly started towards the centre of town.

The weather was perfect and Tails drank in the warmth of the sun as he hurried through the bustling midday streets of new Mobotropolis. The town was so busy and vibrant today that he had to duck and weave between groups of mobians crowding the sidewalks. Hurrying past a shop window he glanced at a clock. _12:15! Argh I hate oversleeping!_ He quickened his pace.

Rounding a corner a shady mall lined with rows of cafe and restaurant tables swam into view, It was lunchtime and very busy. He scanned the crowd carefully, almost all of the tables were taken. _I thought they said to meet here..._ _damn it I hope I'm not too late!_ Turning around he walked back to the corner, _maybe they're down this-_

"Hey Tails! Yo little buddy, wrong way!"

Threading his way down the busy street was Sonic smiling widely. He thrust his hand out for a brotherly handshake.

"Late night eh buddy? those eye bags are coming along real nice" Sonic said jokingly.

"Ha yeah, I've been really busy, thanks for the compliment. Sorry I'm late"

"Don't sweat it dude! You're not late yet, we only just sat down a few minutes ago, Sally and Nicole went to get a table over this way because all of these ones here are taken. C'mon".

Tails' heart leapt a little in his chest as he briskly followed Sonic. _Nicole? I didn't know she was coming._ Using the reflection of the shopfront window he quickly inspected and cursed the dark circles under his eyes. They rounded the corner onto a quiet avenue which looked onto a lush waterfall garden. Sally and Nicole sat at a table together, talking animatedly and peeking at something Sally had in a shopping bag.

"Hi Tails! Come and join us" Sally shouted as she saw the boys approach. Nicole smiled and gave a little greeted and smiled shyly as he pulled up the chair opposite to her. Pleasantries were exchanged.

"So how's the party organising going Sal?" asked Sonic "Is the old man looking forward to his 50th?"

"Oh well, you know, it's okay…" replied Sally, "Dad keeps telling me not to make too much of a fuss, and I'm trying not to go overboard but geez, I had no Idea how much work goes into planning something this big. Beating Robotnick was easier!"

"Anything's easier than beating Robotnick" smirked Sonic, giving Tails a nudge.

"What still needs to be done Sally? Is it something we could help with?" asked Tails.

"Well, actually I have to admit I was kind of praying you would ask" said Sally looking down guiltily, "It's only a week away and I still haven't finalised all the details; the decorations, the food, I'm stuck… I need ideas…"

Nicole spoke up. "Sally! why didn't you say something earlier? I'd love to help out!", Tails nodded enthusiastically.

"Help eh? I dunno… do we get free food?" nudged Sonic

"All the chilli dogs you can eat"

"Alright I'm In."

"But only If you help make them"

"Awwww!"

Nicole and Tails laughed and for the next twenty minutes the table was alive with jokes, banter and exciting ideas.

Finally sonic interrupted. "Hey here's a suggestion guys!"

"Sonic No! For the last time you can't face paint the palace guards!" protested Sally.

"No seriously, I think we can all agree on this one…"

The table went quiet as Sonic grinned and waited. He motioned with his eyes at Tails who was lost in the menu. Almost as if on queue, Tails' stomach broke the silence with a loud growl.

"oh, I… excuse me, I um… didn't have breakfast"

"Anybody else keen for some lunch?" Laughed Sonic.

Tails blushed and glanced at Nicole who was trying to stifle a giggle. The four studied their menus for a minute and Sally took orders.

"Sonic will you come with me? I was hoping to talk to you about something" said Sally, getting up from the table.

"Sure Sal" said Sonic and turned to Nicole "Watch out for Tails while I'm gone Nicole, he bites when he's hungry."

Tails cringed with embarrassment and shot a death glare at Sonic who winked and waved before rounding the corner with Sally. Nicole glanced at Tails apologetically as she tried to hide her amusement. Tails smiled shyly and averted his eyes towards the tabletop.

A minute passed, silence; Tails took a sip of water, his throat was dry.

 _Say something you idiot, say something! You gotta say something now._

 _But why would she want to talk to me?_

 _Just say something moron!_

 _But I don't know what to-_

 _SAY SOMETHING!_

Tails looked up. "I really your like ummm...-" _shit!_ *ahem* "I- I mean, I really liked your party idea before Nicole, about lighting up the sky with coloured stars. Do you really think you could do that?"

When she heard Tails speak, Nicole looked up gratefully, the spot on the ground she had been studying intently suddenly less interesting.

"Do you really think so?" She said and for a split second her face shone with delight, but then, as if catching herself she suddenly turned somber. "Oh no... actually I wish I hadn't said anything… I've been doing some thinking and, I just don't know if I can actually do it. The nanites' field doesn't reach very high and even If i could make the stars up there I don't know how I could keep them floating."

She looked back down at the ground. "I wish I hadn't said anything, Sally was so excited too, now I feel like such a let down."

Tails couldn't help but chuckle, after listening to Sonic and Sally for so long Nicole's modesty caught him by surprise.

"Yep that's just about how I would describe you Nicole. Biggest letdown in mobotropolis! Sure you can build buildings out of thin air, read a million books in a minute and protect the entire city by yourself but when It comes to something really important like decorating for a party you're all talk! What a let down!"

Nicole glanced up and gave a thankful but half-hearted smile.

"I liked your ideas too Tails. Did you have something in particular in mind for our group present?" she smirked slightly "I get the sense that Sonic's idea of 'fuzzy slippers' wasn't quite what you meant?"

"Heh, well no not quite. I did have an idea sort of. Well actually, yes and no. There's something I've been working on for Sally for a while now and I think It would be the perfect present for the king." He looked up with a cheeky smile "Perhaps I'd better not say too much. I wouldn't want to be a let down."

"Heyyyy you're mean." pouted Nicole and laughed with Tails.

Tails paused a moment, there was something about the way she was looking at him… a question leapt into his mind, "Do you believe in luck?" he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Nicole.

"Well it's the craziest thing, if you had asked me a week ago about this project I'm doing I would have said there was no way in hell I'd have the present ready for the party. It's weird though, it's almost as if everything has suddenly started going right for no reason. All of a sudden I can't get things wrong, all of the stuff I'm missing turns up, all of the things that are broken start working… It's like I have a lucky charm…" Tails trailed off, slightly lost in thought. He looked at Nicole who had suddenly become very still, eyes wide.

"Y-You must be working really hard Tails, you look a bit tired." blurted Nicole quickly.

"Heh, yeah" _Dammit she must think I'm such a slob_ "Actually I was a bit late today because I slept in, sorry for inconveniencing you guys".

"Oh that's ok, we were just shopping. I'm glad you came… It's nice to see you again"

Tails blushed; his heart skipped a beat. Was Nicole blushing slightly too? _No. don't be stupid. idiot. Get a grip._ There was another moment of awkward silence and the tabletop once again became very interesting.

"So what have you been working on lately Nicole? ever since you finished repairing the city I haven't seen much of you." _Nowhere near enough_ …

"Oh, actually It's something really exciting, I've been helping Rotor with it for a few months now and It's going to be finished soon. It's based on some of his past research. I'd tell you more but it's meant to be a surprise and well..." Nicole smiled coyly "I've learnt my lesson about telling you my ideas haven't I?"

"touché" replied Tails playfully. _Man she has beautiful eyes_ "So… so what do you think Sonic and Sally are talking about?"

"Oh I know that!" chimed Nicole, she leaned in to whisper "The party is going to be a formal, her dad wants a partner dance, Sally's been talking all week about how she wants Sonic to be her date. She's got a plan to make him ask her".

"A plan to... _make_ him ask her?" Chuckled Tails and rolled his eyes, "man it's always something going on with those two isn't it?".

"He he, It sure is" laughed Nicole, smiling knowingly.

Something about the way that Nicole had laughed sent a jolt down Tails' spine and he suddenly felt a bit light headed. _Holy moly she's pretty._

' _Ask her! Ask her to the dance!'_ came the scream inside Tails' brain so loudly he couldn't ignore it.

 _But! But-_

' _Ask her you bloody moron or I'm out! Me and the stomach are leaving and moving to  
the country and we aren't coming back!'_

Tails looked at Nicole who was smiling at him shyly and time slowed down, the blood seemed to drain from his extremities, the butterflies in his stomach were having a rave.

Tails voice was dry, "Are you… are you going with anybody N-nicole?".

Nicole's eyes dilated and she seemed a bit shocked. "I…."

Time stood still.

"The other day Rotor offered to take me if I didn't -"

"Hey Guys!" Sonic yelled out as he plonked a big basket of chips in the centre of the table and promptly grabbed one.

Tails wasn't hungry, something had punched him in the stomach.

"Would you believe I forgot I'd asked Sally to this dance thing? I swear I can't remember it but then we did have a bunch of weird mind magic stuff going on after Nagus left, maybe it was that... But hang on that can't be right because -"

"Okay, so where were we!?" Sally quickly interrupted.

With food in their hands (and sometimes in their mouths) the friends talked and laughed until the lunch crowds had gone and when it was finally time to leave Tails said goodbye and waved cheerily. Or at least most of him did, the rest lay cold and dying, trapped in a moment that would last forever.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3 - You Can't Hide from Sally**

"Wow look how it fits!"

Sally grinned as her head popped out of the neck hole of the formal dress she was shimmying into.

"You haven't zipped it up yet" giggled Nicole who sat with her feet dangling off the side of Sally's grand four-post bed. She jumped up and hurried over to Sally whose arms were flailing as she struggled to reach the zipper on the back of her dress.

"It's definitely a little tighter than I remember." muttered Sally.

Sally turned slowly on the spot with her arms out to her sides, critically examining herself in the mirror. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten so much dessert the other day but what am I supposed to do? The castle chefs keep throwing celebration feasts!" she said, blue satin fabric hung elegantly from her feminine frame. "Oh Nicole... does It still look ok?"

"Err... define Ok" teased Nicole, an expression of mock apprehension on her face.

"Hey! You'd better watch out or I'll reprogram you into an elephant. You'll have to wear a sheet to the party!" Sally shot back, her playful smile fading slightly as she looked disapprovingly at the mirror "Seriously Nicole, does it look alright?"

Nicole, who was now sitting back down, looked her in the eyes and nodded solemnly

"You look amazing Sally, really".

"Thanks Nicole."

There was a comfortable minute of silence, the sort that can only exist between friends, Nicole spectated as Sally used the bedroom's large ornate mirror to model her dress from a variety of angles. Satisfied, she smiled and gave a little nod before twirling on the spot playfully.

"Well that's my dress done. What about you Nicole? Are you wearing anything special?"

"A-actually I did have something In mind." Said Nicole shyly; being the centre of attention was not her strong suit, "Perhaps you could tell me what you think?"

Sally smiled warmly and gave a supporting nod which prompted Nicole to stand up. With a self-conscious look downwards her physical form dissolved in a glow of green light and then she was back, her regular purple dress replaced by an elegant, ankle-length, flowing golden gown.

Sally gasped and stood for a second in awed silence. "Wow Nicole!" she exclaimed " That. looks. Amazing!" and she enviously admired Nicole's new look.

"It's... It's ok?" said Nicole, who smiled cautiously. She'd never dressed up like this before, and was slightly taken aback by how she looked, _This is actually pretty fun._

"Ok? Nicole, it's incredible! You look like a model! As Princess of this kingdom I may have to order you not to wear it, you're going to make me look bad! You're not trying to catch someone's eye are you? " Sally added wryly.

Nicole's eyes suddenly shot down to her feet and her face flushed bright red. She was dead silent. Sally laughed casually but stopped when she noticed

"Nicole, are you ok?"

Nicole was silent, briefly she glanced up and in her eyes Sally caught a glimpse of deep embarrassment. _But it couldn't be could it? Because that would mean..._ A cheeky grin of recognition swept over her face.

"Ohhh IIIIIIII see!"

Sally placed her hands on her hips and gave Nicole a knowing grin.

Nicole shifted uncomfortably on the spot; she was suddenly desperate to avoid eye contact, her face felt red hot from blushing and she wished she were were invisible.

"Hey come back here you!" Sally burst out laughing as Nicole's desire to disappear began to manifest itself physically.

"You can't escape from me that easily. Whooo is it Nicole?"

"N-Nobody" she muttered, and drew away in discomfort.

"I bet it's -" Sally started but then stopped suddenly and scolded herself. _Gosh her emotions are so advanced these days, sometimes I forget she's still learning about some new ones, this must be really hard for her._

Sally gave Nicole a hug. "Nicole I'm sorry, you don't need to tell me anything, I'm just so excited for you." then she winked "You know it doesn't matter who it is anyway. You could have any guy in the world looking like that!"

Nicole blushed again but relaxed."Thank you Sally. I'm sorry too. I... I want to tell you, but it just makes me feel so embarrassed. Is that normal?"

Sally chuckled and gave Nicole a sympathetic frown "Oh yeah, you'd better believe it! I hate to tell you honey but If you think you're embarrassed talking with me about this, just wait till you try to tell them how you feel!" Playfully she gave Nicole a tight squeeze "Sorry Nicole, you're just going to have to get used to it"


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4 - Fortress of Solitude**

Tails wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and massaged his sore neck. He'd been kneeling down for hours now, fiddling with some damaged wiring in the innards of a large control panel, it was slow and tedious work. "Ugh time for a break" he muttered to himself as he gingerly eased himself up, propping his back against the side of the panel "T-pup keep working back in there I'll be back in a bit!". He rubbed his eyes, slowly adjusting to the gentle late-afternoon sunlight that shone through a large gash in the side of the room, the cold metallic grey of the control panels reflected its warm glow.

Tails stared outside, admiring a view which could hardly have been more picturesque; rolling green slopes covered in long green grass and fields of colourful flowers swaying in the breeze, the start of a valley that descended into thick verdant forest. The high altitude gave a panoramic view to the horizon and, in the distance far below, Tails could see the sun inching towards the horizon, clouds coloured in spectacular pinks and yellows, the first lights of new mobotropolis as it welcomed the night.

 _Sure was nice of eggman to crash the death egg up here_ thought Tails and smiled to himself as he relaxed. His mind began to wander.

Something in the distance caught Tail's eye and he snapped out of his daydream. A flock of birds formed a little cloud as they escaped the canopy of the dense western forest. Seconds later a tiny speck of blue emerged onto the flat green plains at the base of the mountain, zigging and zagging and occasionally disappearing from view. Tails smiled and watched as second by second the blur got bigger, streaking through the grass of the green foothills down below. Picking himself up, he strolled over to the hole in wall of the control room and peered out.

Silence, and then, suddenly, a loud ripping sound rang out from above, Tails dashed outside, but before he could look up Sonic was in front of him; sliding down the side of the crashed death egg fortress, he jumped and landed acrobatically in front of Tails.

"Sonic!" shouted Tails and the friends high-fived.

"Hey Tails little buddy, sorry I'm late I had to get my date ready for the big dance tonight" Sonic smirked and pointed upwards, directing Tail's attention to the painted robotnik 'face' of the death-egg which Sonic's spin dash had creatively given a lipstick, a hair bow, and long eyelashes.

"I didn't know you were into bigger girls Sonic" Laughed tails and rolled his eyes at the drawing.

"Shh don't say that she'll hear you!".

"So what are you doing up here Sonic? I thought Sally asked you to help with the preparations?"

Sonic pointed to his hand and Tails realised he was holding a small covered plate.

"She did, and I am; right now! I'm helping the kitchen staff take the appetizers out to the tables. Sally gave me twenty minutes but it only took me two. You're a guest and I figured that this lovely lady up here probably has a table inside her somewhere so I'm just doing my job, right?"

Sonic uncovered the plate to reveal a selection of tasty looking hors-d'oeuvres, he grabbed one and tossed it to to Tails before stuffing another in his own mouth.

"Heh, Thanks sonic, I am pretty hungry" chuckled Tails as he studied his food for a moment and then promptly devoured it. The two surveyed the view as they shared the tray of food, barely pausing to grunt approval between bites.

When Tails had finished he sighed, wiped his mouth, and spoke up. "I know why you're really here y'know... but I can't come. I'm not finished here yet."

Sonic, who was reaching for the last morsel on the plate, stopped mid-movement."Oh" he muttered dejectedly, "You're sure you won't to come? It won't be the same without you little buddy. Sally and me and everyone else, you know we all really want you there."

"Thanks Sonic, I know" said Tails nodding his head earnestly, "But I can't come until I have the King's present, it's just too important. I promised Sally that I would get it and I'm so close I can almost feel it."

"But nobody else knows about it yet Tails! It's not like you'll be letting me down, and Sally never meant for you to work through the party. You know she's the one that sent me here right? Serving tables, pft, do you really think she'd let me get anywhere near the kitchen?"

"Ha ha no" Tails chuckled; he felt guilty and torn, a moment passed as his inner voices argued with each other. When he finally he looked up, his face was serious. "Sonic, I'm sorry, I really can't, I've spent weeks preparing for this, I'm almost finished and it's just too important to let it go. Tell Sally I'll be there soon but I just need a bit more time"

Sonic sized up Tail's resolve with one last serious look in the eyes, the expression was clear, the argument over. "You win, buddy, you win. Just make sure you make it for the fireworks ok? That's when we're giving the King his presents."

"I'll be there".

Sonic nodded, he knew that look, he sighed slightly and smiled to himself. "Alright buddy, well I gotta go before Sal finds out that it was me who stole the eats. Don't be a stranger."

"Seeya sonic" said Tails with a solemn smile.

And with that Sonic was gone, a trail of dust and a speck of blue in the distance were all that remained.

Tails squeezed his fist and grit his teeth, _alright, no time to lose now, I gotta get this done._


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5 - A Night to Forget**

 _This is crazy, I'm so nervous I'm going to die!_ Nicole's heart hammered in her chest as the palace guard inspected her invitation and ushered her through the big iron archway, the white vine-covered threshold into the castle's gardens. Rotor walked beside her dressed in a slightly-too-tight tux, humming to the jazz music that the band was playing.

Nicole scanned the area with trepidation. The party had definitely begun and the garden had been transformed; thousands of tiny strings of lights filled the trees and boundary hedges of the courtyard, their glow reaching every leaf and branch, contrasting them strikingly against the background of the darkening night. The colourful crowd was large but spread out; friends mingled together around tables with white silk tablecloths or stood in chatty groups eyeing the food at the long buffets. Nicole was relieved to see she had not overdressed.

Sally, ever the gracious host, was dutifully breaking the ice in a group of unintroduced guests when she spotted the pair and politely excused herself. Her hasty beeline over the grass ending with a warm hug and kiss. "Nicole! Rotor! Thanks so much for coming!" she said excitedly.

"Hi Sally, thanks for inviting us!" replied Rotor, "And gosh I have to say, Your dad sure is a lucky man, this place looks amazing!"

Sally beamed. "Doesn't it look great! All the lights and the decorations! It was actually Nicole who did most of it!" She glanced at Nicole who was silent "You didn't even tell anyone you were helping did you?"

"Ha ha, no she didn't, why am I not surprised?" Rotor laughed and examined Nicole "You're always too modest Nicole, does this have anything to do with the floating star lights you were asking me about?"

Nicole frowned and looked ashamed "Oh I'm so sorry Sally, I tried everything but I couldn't work out how to do it, I never should have said anything. please forgive me"

Sally laughed. "hmmm I dunno…" she raised her eyebrow and leaned in, "maybe if you tell me your little secret" she whispered with a nudge.

Rotor who had been looking around slightly distracted suddenly burst into laughter "ha ha ha! Good luck with that one Sally, I've been trying to get it out of her all day! I managed to work out that it's not Sonic though so you can rest easy there"

"Whew!" said Sally in mock relief, wiping imaginary sweat off her forehead. She gave Rotor a knowing smile. Nicole turned a deep crimson.

"Oh hey, I'm really sorry to dash off so early guys but I planned to meet some old friends here tonight. They came all the way from the tundra! I've just spotted them, can I catch up with you later?" Said Rotor.

"Of course Rotor, that's so nice of them, we'll catch up with you later, have a great time!" Sally replied with a smile and turned to Nicole "Isn't this exciting? C'mon lets go find Dad."

Rotor turned to leave but before he did he winked, "Hey Nicole, say hi to your crush for me"

Sally stifled her laugh and gave a very red Nicole a hug, "Sorry Nicole, I'll be good".

Taking her by the arm, Sally led her embarrassed friend through the crowd, smiling and greeting friends as she passed. The lawn gave way to four grand stairs leading up to a large stone balcony where waiters served drinks to elegant ladies and tuxedoed men. The majestic castle acorn, lit up spectacularly, loomed above.

"Over there" pointed Sally, and Nicole turned to see King Max in his wheelchair talking animatedly with his son Elias and Elias' wife. Sonic, decked out in an all black suit, was leaning on the balustrading and listening casually as he surveyed the party, he spotted the girls and beckoned them over.

"Nicole my dear you look lovely as ever!" came Max's jovial voice, "I hear I have you to thank for these wonderful decorations!"

"Thank you sir" said Nicole humbly "It's been my honour"

"There's no way I could have done it without Nicole Dad. Everyone helped out more than I could have possibly imagined" Said sally.

"I gave moral support" Sonic joked.

Max laughed and gave Sonic a hearty pat, "Sally dear you truly are blessed to have so many good friends, It makes an old codger like me very proud."

Sally threw a grateful smile at Nicole and Sonic who were trying to look modest.

"Well they are the freedom fighters dad, Is there anything they can't do?" Elias laughed, "Don't forget we wouldn't even be around to celebrate if it wasn't for them." he looked as if thinking, "Hey Sal, this must be the first time you guys have all got back together since the victory right? was everyone able to make it?"

Sally frowned slightly, "Unfortunately no, not everyone could be here, Knuckles sends his regards but he had business on Angel island."

Sonic rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink. "the emerald's going to hatch if he sits on it any longer" he murmured, just loud enough to elicit a glare from Sally.

"How about young Tails? I don't believe I've seen him yet tonight" said Max.

"Well he's definitely been invited. Have you heard anything Sonic?" probed Sally.

"Only what I told you before Sal, sorry, he's tough nut to crack"

"Did he- did he say he was coming?" blurted Nicole with a little too much interest.

 _Bus- ted!_ thought Sally and covered her grin. She raised her eyebrow at Nicole knowingly.

"He promised he'd be here for the fireworks" replied Sonic who flashed a curious look at Sally as he tried to decipher her amused expression.

Nicole looked out over the party as her talking friends stood beside her. Elias was telling a story but the words seemed far away. She felt lightheaded, off-balance, like floating on a cloud, only one thought occupied her mind. _He's coming!_

A series of faint popping sounds echoed through the still night air and Tails, who lay sprawled against the side of a control panel, groaned deeply. Out in the distance, through the gash in the wall, he watched as the beginnings of a dazzling fireworks display cast coloured blooms over the skyline of mobotropolis. He sighed in defeat, the burning enthusiasm that usually pushed him through into the long hours of the night had long since disappeared and in its place was a numb feeling, a bitter emptiness. It felt like failure. It felt like regret.

 _I'm such a loser. I should have listened to Sonic, I could have been there hours ago. Nobody even knows I'm up here, nobody knows what I'm doing. I could be having fun. I could be with…_

Tails cringed and cradled his head in his hands.

 _Oh who am I kidding? Sonic was wrong, not everyone wanted to see me tonight…  
not... her_

The dull ache in Tail's throat throbbed and bitter tears welled in his eyes. He stared fiercely ahead, his tortured face grimly outlined by an ethereal purple glow. The chaos emerald, the king's grand present, sneered back at him.

It was a being used as a power source, he'd worked out that much. Connected to some sort of strange machine, and yet, the more he studied the circuits and followed the wires, the less logical it all seemed. All that effort, all that time for nothing, it was trapped behind impenetrable shields. The universe was taunting him, his lucky charm, just a cruel joke.

The distant fireworks ended with a spectacular flourish and the sky went dark. The darkness enveloped Tails' mind. "THIS STUPID MACHINE, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" he yelled, slamming his fist hard on the panel.

T-pup yelped and looked up at him in concern.

In a wounded rage Tails seized the loose wires next to him and let out an angry roar. Furiously he wrenched at them, and in a shower of sparks the circuit flew off the wall.

The blast was instant.  
The light as bright as a thousand suns.  
Tails' world dissolved around him.


	6. Chapter 6

**PART 2 - The Black Desert**

 **CHAPTER 6 - The Fox of the Wastes**

A gale of roaring winds battered the windows and whistled through the gaps in the door of the small log cabin. Driving rain hammered on the roof with a deafening roar and streamed off into eroded dirt channels that flowed like waterfalls down rocky cliffs. Huge black-blue waves crashed mercilessly on the beach. Tropical Cocoa island - Stay for the weather.

Thick black clouds blanketed the night sky but inside the cabin was lit; a sterile blue glared coldly from a draftsman's lamp and onto a workbench in the corner. Sharply silhouetted, a lone figure stood hunched, hands planted firmly on the bench. The young fox stared fixedly at the radio in front of him, two tails flicked anxiously at the floor behind him.

It was bitterly cold but if he noticed Tails didn't show it. His face showed little these days. The carefree boy that he had once been was worn out. Though still young and handsome, not even fully a man, his face betrayed a great tiredness, his expression was weary and drawn, his eyes without the spark of youth. Tails glanced quickly at the dusty old clock on the bookshelf and his forehead creased in frustration. _2:20 am. Knuckles is never late like this! Has something gone wrong?_ He pulled the cover panel off the old two-way and carefully surveyed the insides, checking and re-checking for a loose wire or a faulty fuse, anything to explain the deafening silence.

A fork of brilliant white lightning hit the ground nearby, shaking the windows with a thundering boom and for the hundredth time that evening the young fox flinched back in fear, gritting his teeth and trying to force the panic back inside. Steadying himself on the bench, he gulped a deep breath and closed his eyes, _It's just thunder, it'll be over soon, it'll be over soon._ His ears were ringing but there was another noise too, _Is that? Yes!_ through the crackle of interference and the sound of driving rain, the faintest of voices spoke out "Emerald Island to Cocoa Island, Emerald Island to Cocoa Island, come in Cocoa Island! over"

Quickly donning his headphones and adjusting the gain, Tails leaned in close to the microphone. "Cocoa Island here I read you but your signal is weak, can you bring it up any more? over"

Crackling noises, more distortion, louder now. "Tails *** can you hear me?" came the familiar voice. Tails let out a sigh of relief.

"I can hear you Knuckles old buddy and geez I'm glad you called! This storm; It's the worst one yet and it's coming on fast"

"Roger on that, I think we're in the same storm! Started raining here a week ago and no signs of letting up. Sorry for the delay, I was just getting ready to call you when lightning hit the transformer and the whole system went down. These damn storms just keep getting worse, It's not going to stop is it?"

 _A week?!_ the horror of the thought sapped the warmth from Tails' fingertips.

"I don't know Knux but I'm not gonna sit here and wait to find out! Put me out of my misery, did you follow that lead?"

"Yeah I did Tails I ********* *** *** **"

Tails pressed the headphones to his ears, the crackling distortion was louder, worse than the driving rain.

"Repeat Knuckles, Repeat!"

More crackling.

"*** found it Tails. The chaos emerald you asked ab*** its there"

Blood pounded in Tails' ears. _Could it be? Finally a power source!_

"Do you have it? Knuckles do you have it with you!?"

"No, I couldn't ge*****. couldn't get to it ************* still there. It's in the ***** ***** Too m*ch ra**********"

The radio hissed like a sandblaster.

"KNUCKLES REPEAT! Too much what? The chaos emerald why did you leave it!? KNUCKLES!"

The empty airwaves hissed into Tails' ears like a jeering snake; He tore off his headphones, slamming them down on the table. Glancing back to the clock and then out at the storm his mind began to race. _It's only going to get worse! I can't afford to stay here, I need that emerald!_ Thunder blasted as he snatched his heavy coat from the wall and threw open the door, leaning into the wind, greeting the angry tempest head-on.

Blinding sheets of sideways rain cascaded down as Tails dashed towards the hangar, his slipping boots leaving indented pools in the waterlogged grass. He lunged for the door, throwing it open and dashing inside; a cacophony, the sound of rain on the curved tin roof, reverberated like a million tiny gunshots around the large open shed. _Damn the power's out!_ Tails grabbed his flashlight off the wall, it's beam revealing the puddles of water now inching across the cement floor. In the center sat the Tornado, his pride and joy, gleaming a metallic blue in the halogen beam, its chrome propeller polished to a mirror. Tails braced himself against the onslaught of wind as he slowly cranked open the heavy hangar door. _This is going to be rough..._

The gale pulsing through the opening tugged at the Tornado's wings, rocking it back and forth as Tails swung himself up into the cockpit. With the push of a button, the starter motor engaged and the propeller roared into life, headlights glared out, illuminating a dense wall of water. _Rudder, check. Ailerons, check._ Everything was operational. _Here goes nothing._

Tails took a deep breath and thrust the throttle forward. The battle began, Tornado vs hurricane.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - Coming Home**

White knuckled, Tails gripped the joystick as his battered plane finally breached through the cloud bank; rising out of the grey like a submarine surfacing in a ghostly ocean. Heavy beads of moisture streamed off the wings and down the windshield. Tails sat bolt upright, the terrifying take-off still replaying in his head. _Thank god I decided to enclose the cockpit!_

The night air was still and almost serene above the clouds and soon Tails' breathing slowed and he relaxed back into his seat. Minutes passed slowly and soon became hours, his relief passed quickly and soon became boredom. Tails checked the clock, 4:53 am. Down below the storm clouds seemed less intense and through them he could see some faint lights shining up. _Freedom town_ , Tails frowned, _I wonder how things are going down there these days._

Freedom town was a depressing place. Its ramshackle huts and shelters had been constructed hastily in the weeks after the bombs. No running water, barely enough food, but still survivors had poured in, escaping from the craters that they had once called cities. He had been one of the lucky ones, or so they told him, and for a time Freedom Town had offered shelter but the walls had quickly became a symbol of all that was lost. Tails remembered the day he finally repaired the Tornado, plotting a course for Cocoa Island, a little flash of happiness in the endless darkness.

The lights below soon dimmed and Tails drifted off to sleep, awoken some hours later by an annoying beeping. 'Destination approaching' flashed on the autopilot screen and Tails once again seized control of the joystick. The black storm clouds had given way to grey now, less dense but moving quickly. Bracing for winds he turned the nose downwards and dived back into the fluffy shapeless gloom, wrestling the controls as the biplane jolted from side to side.

A deadened blackened wasteland swam into view, the first glimpse of Mobotropolis, his old home. Tails watched as great gusts of wind whipped black dust into the air throwing it about, back and forth, in angry little whirlwinds. Hundreds of leveled ruins jutted haphazardly from the flat plain, barely visible until dangerously close. The sideways cross-winds shook the Tornado violently as Tails surveyed the ground for a landing spot, _The runway_ , thought Tails, _it may still be useable_ , and he squinted through the haze, trying to pick details from the featureless graveyard. _Wait. I think that's it!_

Turning the plane into the wind Tails gripped the stick tightly, the long flat straight was becoming clearer now and he braced himself for a rough landing. Pushing the joystick forwards he bounced violently in the turbulence, slamming into the sides of the cockpit and jolting up and down. _Something's wrong!_ To his horror Tails could see the end of the runway, or what used to be the end of the runway, in it's place, the ruins of the air control tower were strewn on the ground. Fighting the stick he tried to pull up but the Tornado was too slow to rise. The wheels hit the ground with a thud and a bounce, the wall of debris approaching like a speeding truck. Desperately he jammed the controls hard left, almost rolling the plane as it turned at the last second, skidding over the loose bitumen. A cement block as big as a bus screamed past his right windscreen, tearing off a wing like paper and sending Tails headfirst into the windshield. The plane rolled forward and let out a terrible grinding shriek as metal on tarmac skidded to a stop.

There was ringing silence as Tails fought the urge to pass out, the sound of alarms blared out loudly at him but they seemed distant and distorted. In a daze the young fox pushed hard on the cockpit roof, dragging himself out he crawled through smoke and onto the dusty ground. His arm shielded his eyes from the daggers of sand whipping at his face. _This is bad, this is bad, this is so much worse than it looked from above!_

Tails dragged himself to the ruins of tower wall and collapsed in the corner. The wind was ringing in his ears but a new sensation snapped at his attention, a burning pain throbbed in his leg. He strained to look, to assess the damage, but, he couldn't concentrate, a wall of darkness was fast approaching. The wind wailed around him but Tails could not hear, his eyes closed and his head fell to the ground.

Awaking in a start, an icy droplet of rain soaked into the fur of Tail's cheek. _How long have I been out?_ He looked up at the sky, now dark and blotted out by thick black rainclouds. _The storm, it's here..._

Sitting up, Tails groaned in pain. His head hurt, everything felt bruised, his right ankle was on fire. Through spattering drops of rain Tails could see the remains of his beloved plane strewn out along the runway, It had been a narrow escape. One of the wings had been torn clean off, twisted and torn it lay on its side. The other, a bi-wing no-longer, hung limply from the fuselage, it's supporting struts snapped in half. The engines looked charred and the propeller, or at least most of it, was nowhere to be seen. Using the wall, Tails struggled to his feet. _The cockpit! My supplies, thank goodness it's okay_. Tails limped labouredly toward the upturned cabin, its cracked windscreen still open from his hasty escape. He leaned in, and, with some effort, pulled out a large supply crate and set about filling his satchel.

The rain was coming in harder now and the powdery black dust of the wasteland was quickly turning to mud. Tails shivered as he lumbered forward, using a strut from his broken wing as a makeshift crutch. He now wore a raincoat but his fur was soaked and an icy wind bit hard against his face; the temperature was dropping. _I need to find cover, somewhere to camp_. Tails looked all around himself, peering into the haze, In the distance a dark outline caught his eye, a large structure, it looked enclosed, arduously he lumbered towards it.

The shape was like a giant dome and as he drew closer Tails could tell that, unlike the surrounding cement ruins of buildings, this was made of something else. Something… metallic. A bolt of lightning shot through the clouds and Tails caught a glimpse of the lit up paint. _Eggman! The Death Egg!_ It sat on an angle, badly damaged and half-buried, a reminder that nobody had been spared when Robotnik's bombs had the fell. Not even the monster himself. Mad till the end.

The shadow of the fortress now loomed over him and Tails slogged through the muddy ground towards the edge. A large broken sheet of outer armour leaned against the hull, creating an overhang, a brief respite from the pounding rain. Tails looked around, following the curve of the egg, the entrance, if there was one, was nowhere to be seen. His stomach dropped as he looked out at the rain falling harder and harder. His leg throbbed and he shook from the cold. _This was a terrible mistake, I can't stay here! The Tornado, I need to get back to the cockpit!_ Desperately he searched the boundaries of his vision for any familiar landmark. His footprints, left mere minutes before were almost gone, seemingly swallowed by the quickening deluge. Heart pounding, he picked a direction, a best guess, and silently threw bitter curses at himself as he stepped out from below the shrinking cover. _Why didn't I use my bloody compass!?_

The biting wind was pulsing now, driving shards of heavy rain hard into the mud; freezing cold and drenched to the bone, Tails staggered forward, shivering uncontrollably, a feeling of panic starting to grow inside him. Desperately he scanned through the rain, _I need some shelter, anything!_ Nothing. He stumbled forward blindly now, veiled by a grey sheet of water that fell before his eyes. The plane, his only remaining hope was nowhere to be seen, his tracks long since vanished.

The tree trunk looked like any other debris. A greyish mangled form, blackened and charred, poking from the murky ground. Tails had stumbled close and paused for a moment to catch his breath, when he was suddenly struck by a strange thought. _How is this still standing, all of the others are gone?_ He looked closer. The tree, or what was left of its trunk was strangely unburned by fire, In fact, it looked as if it had melted slightly. A mesh frame was just visible behind the charred remains of a very convincing fake bark. Behind that… _hollow!_ Tails staggered closer, _could it be? surely not… I would have known about it!_ With his shivering hand outstretched he felt the sides and moved around the trunk of the tree. _c'mon c'mon…_ suddenly he felt a click as he touched a jutting bark chip, and, as if by magic, a small door in the side of the tree opened inwards. Tails pushed the door in and leaned down to look inside, it was almost pitch black, but it felt dry, and without a second thought he stepped through the doorway. Straight into a hole.

Tails fell, tumbling forwards, faster and faster down a steep smooth slide. Head first, back first, he skidded down the slippery tube and before he could even sit back up he was thrown out at high speed, sliding across cold smooth concrete in a pitch black room, hitting a wall with a light thud. Grimacing with pain he struggled through his dizziness trying desperately to make sense of the inky blackness. He touched the wall next to him and moved his hands upwards. There was a tickle, a buzzing noise, and suddenly a sharp jolt like static electricity shot through him.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8 - Computer Games**

Tails winced as a brilliant flash of light exploded through his head, as if stepping from a dark basement into the blinding glare of the midday sun. A numb, tingling sensation, like pins and needles, shot down his arms and legs and a high pitched ringing filled his ears. The sound stopped suddenly, almost as suddenly as it had come, the painful sensory onslaught dissolved and his surroundings came swimming back into focus. He gasped in surprise, the wasteland was gone, the dark slide no-more. In shock Tails survey his surroundings, he stood in the open, at the edge of a lush green grassy clearing, a warm yellow sun gleamed down on his face from a crystal clear blue sky.

It took the fox a moment to realise where he was. One side the clearing was surrounded by a semicircle of trees, the edge of a dense pine forest, on the other, a limestone cliff facade. Into the the base of the cliff was set a heavy wooden door, a single stump sitting conspicuously nearby removed any doubt from his mind. He gazed at the flag flying overhead. _But this is… The old Freedom Fighters HQ!_ "Woah" he gasped audibly, still slightly off-balance from his jolting transition, _It's just like it used to be_. With an outstretched hand Tails felt the air around him, taking one tentative step forward and then another, each time bracing slightly as if expected to hit the wall of the dark room; it never came. His leg had stopped hurting and a strange feeling of nakedness had crept over him; looking down at his body he realised his heavy raincoat was gone, the brown belt that he rarely removed, no longer hung around his waist. Stranger still, Instead of his regular boots, he was now wearing special trainers, red and white and built for speed, the same kind he had once worn many years ago, long since worn out. _okay this is getting weird._

The Freedom fighters old base was two stories high, built into the rock of some cliffs in the forest. The heavy bunker door yielded surprisingly easily as Tails crossed its familiar threshold, pausing momentarily to touch the wall; solid, cool and rough like sand. _Is this real? It feels real..._ The top floor was mostly a hallway, at one end a big metal door lead further into the hillside, the control centre of the HQ; to the left a stone archway carved into the rock marked the start of a flight of stairs that spiraled downwards to the living quarters below. Picking a direction, Tails tentatively moved forwards towards the stairway and was just about to walk down the first step when he froze. _Was that a voice?_ the faint sounds of laughter echoed up the long stone passageway, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

With a growing sense of unease Tails glanced behind him then bit his lip and crept quietly down the long curved staircase. He could make out voices now and they grew louder as he approached the bottom. There was something odd about the voices... something familiar. _Can it be? but how?!_ He could now just see into the cavernous but homely living area. There was a kitchen in the far corner, bedrooms to the side, and a cozy entertainment area in the middle complete with couches and a television, Just how he remembered it. Feelings of nostalgia and warm comfort filled his heart, a strange compliment for the eerie disquiet that was quickly filling his stomach. One by one Tails carefully descended the final steps to the ground, his eyes fixed upon the couches, his usually stoic face now wide eyed in disbelief. There before him surrounded by Antoine, Bunnie, Vector and Espio sat none-other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

The colourful flashing images on the big widescreen television set lit up the faces of a happy group. Antoine and Bunnie were sharing an armchair, and in their hands a video game controller, they both stared straight ahead with looks of intense concentration on their faces, apparently locked in a fierce battle. Vector shifted animatedly on the edge of his seat as his body subconsciously mimicked his actions on screen and Sonic too was playing, he appeared to be winning, slouched back on the couch with a confident smirk on his face. Espio sat next to Vector, reading a magazine quietly. Tails lingered in the doorway and quietly watched the little group enjoying themselves, too dumbstruck to move.

There was a sound of fanfare from the TV and suddenly sonic jumped up and pumped his fist in the air. "Ha ha Yes! eat that guys! Winner again! What's that now? Fifth time 'just lucky' eh?".

"Yeah yeah, alright but that's only because ya got to choose the level again" bunnie retorted, clearly miffed.

"Hey Tails what are you doing over there, I thought you were working on the Tornado?" Sonic called out and beckoned with his free hand "Come join us for the next game. Would be nice to have some real competition for a change"

Tails froze, he was spotted, and yet It was almost as if Sonic had barely acknowledged him. Nothing but a quick hello and a casual wave? Sonic's blasé demeanour caught him off guard, his cover blown, he approached cautiously, amazed by the lack of reaction to his presence. Nobody watched him and nobody spoke, even Sonic had quickly turned his attention back to mocking Vector who was desperately trying to avoid last place.

When Tails reached the couches he was first acknowledged by Espio who looked up and gave a friendly smile and a nod before returning to his book.

"Hey Tails" grumbled Vector quickly under his breath as he stared at the screen, still battling a virtual opponent to escape the ultimate shame.

"Alo Tails" said Antoine cheerfully.

"Hi shugah wanna play?" Chimed bunnie.

"Ah oui please Tails, we are needing your flying skills, Sonic keeps winning at ze racing and we need to take him down."

"Hey, what can I say? when it comes to speed, I'm a natural." Said sonic cockily and put his hands behind his head, relaxing a bit too deliberately back into the couch.

Tails didn't reply. How could he? What do you say to a room full of ghosts? Had the last seven years even happened to these people? It felt like a dream and yet everyone seemed so real, all he could do was stare at their faces.

"Here ya go shugah" said Bunnie as she thrust a controller into Tails' open hand. He stood for a moment not knowing what else to do, then sensing some curious looks from his onlookers he hesitantly surrendered, slumping down onto the couch next to Sonic, still staring in wide eyed bemusement at his old friends.

Antoine picked a level, 'the asteroid belt' and Sonic started a new game. Tails half-heartedly moved his rocket ship through the course, too stricken by the strangeness of his situation to really pay attention.

"Hey guys I'm beating Tails!" Vector exclaimed excitedly as he blasted past with a endless boost and flew straight into a well-placed mine "Aww who left that there!" he cried, spaceship exploding for a tenth time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tails caught a glimpse of movement from the stairway and watched in amazement as Nicole and Sally entered the room, chatting with each other. The girls waved offhandedly at the group as they walked past on their way to the kitchen where Nicole sat on the bench and continued to talk as Sally proceeded to dig through the refrigerator.

A minute later and the race was over, Tails had come in fifth and once again Sonic was chuckling at Vector's incompetence. Tails watched Sonic spellbound, seven years and he hadn't aged a day.

"Sonic" said Tails quietly, tapping his gloating friend on the shoulder "can I ask you something..."

Sonic turned, noticing Tails serious expression he lowered his voice "Sure Tails, what's up? Is something wrong?"

"I... don't know…" Tails said hesitantly "If I were to ask you where we were what would you say?"

Sonic laughed reflexively, "Heh, asking the tough ones today little buddy, we're at FFHQ, is this a trick question?"

"When I came in before nobody really noticed... weren't you surprised to see me?"

Sonic looked puzzled "Well sure I guess, a little, you're usually out working in your workshop at this time of day, kind of cool to see you turn up so early in the afternoon..." Sonic paused and looked at Tails with concern "What's the matter Tails? are you feeling alright?"

Tails glanced down at his hands, young hands, much younger than they should be. This must be a dream... but it feels so real. He looked back up at Sonic, _did I die from that electric shock? Maybe this is heaven?_

"Hey Tails, Sonic, are you two finished yapping? I'm choosing the level this time and you guys are going down" Vector said over-confidently.

Sonic gave Tails a concerned look with a raised eyebrow, "You look okay to me buddy. Maybe you just need to kick back and relax for a bit, let's have another game eh? See how you feel."

"uh, sure..." said Tails, picking up his controls. _I guess I might as well..._

Choose a character, choose a craft, line up at the start, 3,2,... "Shoot him Tails, shoot him!" Bunnie's shouted and Tails was back in the game. A frantic battle unfolded with rockets and boosts and crashes galore and as Tails crossed the line in first, blasting past Sonic with a well-timed boost, a loud cheer went up from the couches accompanied by a cry of disappointment from Sonic, Tails felt his whole body relax. _This must be a dream, it has to be, I never could beat Sonic at this!_ He sat back on the couch and smiled, looking around at his beloved companions, their smiling faces and happy voices echoing around the cozy lounge room. _Not just any dream... this is the best dream I've ever had!_


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9 - A Familiar Face**

An hour had passed when Tails looked up from the television and noticed something strange was happening. The room was becoming dimmer and a quiet murmur of sound had started to grow in volume, it seemed to emanate from thin air. Suddenly, like a doubly exposed photograph, the cozy living room faded and little spots of light broke out all over the darkening ceiling. The solid stone cave walls disappeared, opening out and revealing a scene of bustling merriment, it looked like a outdoor formal party, the dots of light were stars in a clear night sky. Smartly dressed guests mingled at well-catered tables and made their way through the colourfully lit paths of a grand garden. In the centre of a large grassy courtyard a band on a pavilion played music to a group of couples who danced slowly in each-others arms.

Tails fell to the floor with a thud. _What the? Where did everyone else go?_ The couch and all his friends had vanished and he now sat in the cool grass in a quiet, dark corner of the garden. Nearby were a few tables neatly set in lines with white tablecloths, next to them some politely chatting guests, not one so much as blinked at his arrival.

 _If this is a dream, it just keeps getting weirder..._

Tails picked himself up and dusted the grass off, a quick glance around was all it took, he knew this place, it was the Castle Acorn and some of the faces around him belonged to townspeople he recognised. Mighty, Charles, Mina, over on the marble dancefloor Tails caught a glimpse of Elias and his wife dancing together, next to them he couldn't help but grin when he recognised Sonic and Sally holding each other tenderly and swaying to the music.

 _Heh, Sonic always looks weird in a suit._

Tails stood quietly for a while and drank in the surroundings, the slow graceful music, the romantic lights and colours, everything seemed so idyllic, so familiar. Everything was in place, everything except... _wait, who's that?_ Off to the side in the shadows, sitting alone on a table with shoulders hunched, a girl in a shiny golden gown watched the dancers with a sad smile.

 _Wow! Is that... Nicole? She looks so... beautiful._

Driven by a strange energy, Tails approached quietly from the side; he noticed his hands were shaking slightly, _why am I so nervous? It's only a dream_. Eventually he had reached her side and he paused, letting out a small cough. Nothing. Nicole seemed to be in a state of deep thought. For a moment he hesitated and nervous fear shot through him. He took a deep breath and touched her shoulder lightly.

"H-hello? Nicole?"

Nicole turned and looked at Tails curiously with her sad eyes, "Oh Hello Tails… I don't remember you being in this place before." her half-smile was oddly empty, little more than an attempt at politeness.

"Before? I... What do you mean Nicole, where are we?"

Nicole sighed with a hint of frustration. "Nothing, forget I said anything, you wouldn't understand" she said and looked back to the party.

"Why can't I Understand?" asked Tails perplexed.

A minute passed but Nicole did not not answer, _didn't she hear me? why is she ignoring me?_

"Nicole?" Tails asked again reluctantly.

The lynx spun around with a look of frustration on her face, "You can't understand because you just can't. Look I'm sorry Tails I'm in a bad mood. Please just... just leave me alone" she said and turned away curtly.

Tails was taken aback, the Nicole he remembered had never spoken like this! It caught him off guard, she seemed so upset, almost cold with him. He felt a strong urge to walk away but something stopped him. A party of a hundred people, laughter and happiness and friends all around and yet it was unmistakable, he could see it in her eyes, a feeling he knew much too well. Loneliness, deep longing loneliness. _Why?_

Quietly Tails sat down next to Nicole and watched the party. The slow music had stopped and people now danced in small groups. A circle had formed in the middle of the dance floor where Vector and Amy were having a dance-off. Amy was winning. Time seemed to lose all meaning as the two figures sat silently together on their dark table, a pair of astronauts separated from the world by a million miles. The party became a blur and soon all the Tails could see was Nicole, her shoulders were moving slightly, the light from the stage glinted off a droplet that fell on her cheek. "Are you ok Nicole?" he asked softly.

Nicole sniffled. "I'm sorry Tails. That was really rude of me before, "I just…" she stared wistfully into the distance "This place. I don't know why I keep coming back here, every time I do I just feel so awful. It's like… like I'm waiting for something that will never happen… someone who will never come."

She glanced momentarily at Tails but quickly turned away with a bitter half-smile as if mocking herself for her weakness and the ridiculousness of her own thoughts.

"Maybe I could wait with you then?" said Tails. "Perhaps whoever comes along can explain what's going on?"

Nicole laughed gently and tacitly nodded her approval. They sat together quietly, alone again in the confines of their distant spaceship.

A loud bang filled the air and Tails was hurled back into the moment, he recoiled sharply and covered his head, his hands shaking and his eyes darting around. A bright bloom of yellow and blue lit up the sky as the first firework of the evening went off. Nicole, shocked, but not by the sound, looked at Tails with confused concern and instinctively reached for his arm. "Tails are you okay? what happened?"

Tails' world felt fuzzy and anxiety filled him him like a physical pain. Nicole's soft touch was like a beacon and he concentrated on her voice, clawing himself out of his panic, trying not to flinch as more dazzling rockets filled the sky.  
"I- I'm sorry for scaring you" managed Tails, still shaking. "It's the explosions… Ever since the bombs fell I... I can't..."

"Bombs? What bombs?" Nicole looked deeply concerned.

"I know this is a dream, but everything... it feels so real." said Tails "This place, these things, all of these people, none of it should exist! When we finally defeated Robotnik, the bombs, he… he destroyed everything".

"Wait. What!?"

Nicole jumped to her feet and stood stiffly upright. "Tails how could you... how do you know about-?" suddenly everything stopped.

The world plunged into utter silence, everything immediately freezing in position. People stood with mouths half open, drink not flowing from their glasses, dancers defied gravity as their feet hovered disconcertingly above the dancefloor. Nicole stared at Tails, eyes wide with shock and disbelief, her lip was trembling.

"T-Tails..? Tails! Is that really you!? The real you?"

"Nicole, what's going on? is this real? what is this place? " said Tails, He suddenly felt faint, dizzy, the stars seemed to sway overhead.

"Tails! oh Tails it really is you! I've missed you so much!" cried Nicole and she threw herself forward hugging him tightly and burying her head in his chest. "But how? How? I thought I'd never see you again"

The soft warmth of Nicole's body felt like ecstasy but Tails could not answer. The world was spinning now as he fought desperately for consciousness. Looking at Nicole he could see her eyes filling with deep concern. He tried to speak but no words came, his legs buckled and once again the darkness took him.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10 - A New Old Feeling**

 _Is this real? Is this really real?_

Emotions for an AI are a strange thing. In order to truly simulate the experience a computer must intentionally work against itself, challenging processing requests, restricting access to core controls and diagnostics; an artificial intuition creates false conclusions and hides the truth behind a wall of illogic. Shock, fear and even ecstatic joy all distort reality in perceptible ways and as Nicole stood staring at the figure collapsed in the corner they swirled together in her virtual mind making the world feel like a fevered dream. Emotions, she cursed them silently.

The bleak grey walls of the the dimly lit underground bunker pressed in on the young lynx, it had been her home for seven years, her prison, a place she had tried hard to forget. The faintly glowing visage of her physical body flickered as she scanned the surroundings anxiously. _There!_ She hurried over to a metal rack where supplies were messily arranged on shelves and pulled out a red blanket, her holographic form barely able to hold its weight. Unfolding it, she rushed back to kneel beside the shivering fox lying on the ground and wrapped it tightly around him. Tails, _the real Tails!_ older than she remembered, unconsciously groaned in pain.

Kneeling beside him Nicole could clearly see that his leg was injured, the swelling and bruising visible even through the thick black mud that caked his fur. A fresh bruise was forming on his head and as Nicole gently touched his forehead the coldness of his body alarmed her. There was something else, a strange red rash was forming on his skin, it reminded her of something she had seen before but she couldn't quite remember what. Jumping up she hurried over to the shelf again and found a syringe, then, inspecting Tail's arm, she carefully inserted the needle into a vein and drew out a small sample of blood. The medical analyser on the bench was dusty and old but whirred into life with the push of a button. Green letters flashed up on the screen, 'Analysing'. With an impatient sigh, Nicole sat down on the stool and watched as the results of the automatic tests slowly appeared.

'Test 22. No viral pathogens detected'  
'Test 23. Liver damage negative'

"N-Nicole?" The weak, husky voice came from behind her and Nicole spun to see Tails had awoke and was looking up at her with his big blue eyes. Pain was drawn in the lines of his face. "What happened? Where am I?"

Jumping from her stool Nicole rushed to Tails and knelt beside him, she carefully placed her hand on his forehead. Still so cold. "Tails! thank goodness, I was worried about you. You're hurt, your leg might be broken and you're suffering from hypothermia. There's something else too, a strange rash, I'm running some tests to find out what it is. How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere else?"

Tails winced as he raised his head to look around at his gloomy surroundings. "Just... a bit bruised I think" he croaked. "Are we... where are we? Is this real now?"

Nicole nodded and noticed that Tail's hand was shaking uncontrollably, she took his cold fingers in hers. "This is real. You've never seen it before but you're in the old base of the secret Freedom Fighters, we used it back in the days when Nagus was king. That door on the tree up there, the entrance, it was modeled on the old Freedom Fighters stump slide."

Tails winced but managed a smile. "I never was very good at coming down that slide either. But how did I get... Where were we before?"

Nicole looked down at the ground "I'm sorry Tails that must have been so confusing; and me just ignoring you like that.. I'm so so sorry..." her face was wracked with guilt and she started to quiver. Tails squeezed her hand weakly and shook his head, he stared fiercely into her eyes, refusing to acknowledge her guilt.

Nicole collected herself "Do you remember the time Sally and I switched places? It was one of Rotor's strange experimental accidents, the first time I ever had a body. Before the bombs dropped Rotor and I had been working on that technology and he found a way to transport a consciousness into my virtual world. When you came down that slide you accidentally touched the pad that initiated the transfer, the link was broken when your real world body lost consciousness"

Tails grew quiet, staring off into the corner of the dark lab, "They weren't real were they? Sonic and the others... I mean how could they be. I was there when they..." he trailed off.

Nicole frowned, a pained expression on her face. "When Robotnik was defeated and his dead-hand bombs fell, all of my connections to the surface were destroyed. I was trapped down here in this server. Ever since that day I haven't seen anyone else. I thought that I was the only survivor! The virtual world was my only escape but... the loneliness... I had a lot of data stored about each of you from all the times that we'd spent together and I managed to create virtual approximations of your personalities. In some ways they are very realistic, they sound the same, they act in similar ways and sometimes I can go for days without thinking about it. I always remember though, something always brings me back down, they aren't really alive, not in the way that I am, they don't have the ability to grow or change or to understand anything outside the virtual world. Sometimes being around them is harder than being alone..."

A buzzing noise rang out from the medical terminal and a message flashed on the screen. Until that moment, Nicole hadn't realised how tightly she was gripping Tail's hand, she let go with embarrassment and hurried over to the console. _I hope he didn't notice_.

The message on the screen flashed again. 'Test 46 Complete: Moderate radiation poisoning detected'. Nicole's brow creased in confusion as she read the diagnosis. She opened one of the cupboards and withdrew some bottles of liquid, prepping two syringes carefully.

Tail's eyes were closed, but his ears pricked up as Nicole approached, "Tails" she whispered "It's very strange, the diagnostics say that you have radiation poisoning, but that shouldn't be possible. If the bombs fell seven years ago, the background radiation in this area should be mostly safe. Do you know what might have happened?"

Tails struggled to open his eyes, and did his best to shake his head. His mouth opened but he only managed a groan.

"It's going to be okay, It's not life threatening but you need to rest. I'm going to give you an injection to stop the swelling and one to try and prevent any cell damage from the radiation burns. When you're out I'll have a closer look at your leg, hopefully it's just a sprain."

Carefully Nicole injected the solutions into Tails' arm and covered it with a bandage. "I'm so sorry this happened to you Tails" she whispered and found herself gently stroking his fur. Tails did not respond, his raspy breathing the only sound audible above the low hum of the server computers. _Please be okay_. Nicole looked down at her unexpected guest, the sudden source of so much shock, confusion and fear. There was something else though, deep down in her stomach. A new old feeling, a happy sadness, an ecstatic pain; it came from long in the past but it seemed as clear as yesterday. _What is this feeling?..._ she thought as she stared at Tails' face, _Why does it feel so familiar?_


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11 - Reality Bytes**

"I've gotta admit I'm getting pretty tired of sleeping and passing out" said Tails as Nicole bent down to hand him a hot bowl of soup. He propped himself up on his elbow and leaned over to eat. "It seems like all I do these days"

"Pretty tired eh? Doctor recommends more sleep" Nicole responded with a wry smile, she sat on the floor next to Tails and leaned back on her hands.

"It just makes me feel bad to have you doing everything for me. It's not your fault I'm here. It's my own damn fault! If I hadn't been such a moron, I never would have gotten into this state in the first place!" said Tails motioning down at his foot which was wrapped in a bandage.

Nicole rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, just think of all the important stuff I could be doing right now if you hadn't showed up. You think you're good at Space Racers? Try playing it every day for seven years."

Tails smiled at her then looked down with an inward frown. "I'm sorry Nicole, you're right, I'm glad I found you. I just feel so useless, I wish I could help out in some way."

Nicole thought for a second. "Well, you know, it's been two days now and I still don't know why you came here. Maybe you could start there?"

Suddenly Tails sat bolt upright, "Oh gosh, The chaos emerald! I almost forgot!"

Nicole cocked her head with a raised eyebrow.

Tails explained "The chaos emerald, it's the reason I'm here. I've been searching for one for the last two years. Finally, after all that time, I had Knuckles follow up a lead and he told me that he sensed one out here. I didn't want to wait any longer so I left that night, right in the middle of the storm. Pretty stupid huh? I almost died."

"I still can't believe Knuckles is alive too" Mused Nicole happily "Maybe there's others out there we don't even know about!", she looked at Tails hopefully.

Tails frowned and looked away noncommittally "I… don't know Nicole... I hope so"

"So why do you need an emerald?" Nicole asked "Why have you been looking for so long?".

"Well I told you about the storm and the plane crash right? But what I haven't told you is that the storm wasn't exactly a surprise and it definitely wasn't a one off thing. Ever since that day seven years ago things have been getting worse and worse on the surface. Storms are getting more and more frequent and more violent, these days they can last for weeks; crops are failing and people are starving. There's something wrong with the planet... I don't know what it is but It's getting worse."

"That's awful, I had no Idea..." said Nicole, deep concern outlined in her face. Tails nodded solemnly.

"I wasted years trying to fix things but nothing ever worked. Eventually I just gave up. Ironically that was when I realised there was still hope. The emerald is for an escape, a way out. I was studying the warp technology that we had during the wars and I worked out a way to open a portal to another zone. I've already finished building some parts of it back on Cocoa Island but the problem is I need a chaos emerald, It's the only thing I've found that has enough power to sustain a gateway."

"Well we have to find it then!" Nicole said forcefully, "Tails, if there's still survivors out there then we may be the only ones who can save them! Are you sure it's here?"

Tails shrugged his shoulders with his palms up. "Honestly, I don't know. Knuckles was pretty certain, and he seems to be able to sense emeralds, but there's a detector in the Tornado and it didn't see anything. Actually, the closer I got to Mobotropolis the more the readings stopped making sense, after awhile all I could pick up was random interference."

"Hmm" Nicole thought carefully "That doesn't rule it out. In fact it might just explain something else..." she looked pointedly at Tails "The detector you use. I assume it's a standard flux measuring induction device?"

"Yeah that's right" replied Tails.

"Well one thing that can cause interference is strongly ionising radiation..."

"Of course!" Tails face lit up "Maybe the source of radiation that burned me is the same as the location of the emerald, that would hide the chaos energy signal no matter where I was."

"Exactly" said Nicole, excitedly "So if we use a radiation detector we might find our source. Only problem is I don't have one."

Tails' expression filled with energy "I'm pretty sure I have one! Back in the Tornado, and I have a hunch about where it might point us!" eagerly he pulled himself up and hobbled forward quickly, making it about ten paces before the pain in his sore muscles overcame him. "Arrggh" he groaned, cringing and wobbling precariously, fighting to keep his balance on one unbound foot.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going mister!?" yelled Nicole, hurrying over to grab Tails under the arms and struggling to help him back to his makeshift bed she gently lowered him down. "You can barely stand up Tails, let alone go searching for the emerald! It hasn't even stopped raining yet! Give it two more days, please? Just two. I'm not really a doctor but your sprain should be much better by then and you're not going to be doing anyone any favours if you get into trouble out there."

Tails lay his head back gently, wincing at the pain in his neck before hitting the pillow with a sigh. "Yeah you're right, sorry that was stupid" He flashed Nicole a crooked grin "If I went out there now I'd probably fall down another tree slide and end up with an even bossier A.I."

"mhm" Nicole playfully pretended not to hear as she bent down to take Tail's empty bowl. Tails met her eyes with a sincere look of thanks and despite the coldness of the room she suddenly felt very warm.

"What about you Nicole, can you go back up? You said you'd lost connection to the surface but what about the nanites? If there's still some on the surface maybe we could use them to repair your holo grid. What about your portable handheld could you use that?"

"It's possible that some surface nanites survived the blast but I've lost contact with them if they did. The command broadcaster arrays were very fragile. As for the handheld... Sally was holding it when..." Nicole trailed off and looked away.

"oh... right" muttered Tails, kicking himself mentally. "How about the nanites down here?" he offered, "If we could collect enough maybe we could carry some back to the surface, we could even build a replacement array"

Nicole, paused for a second and then looked up, suddenly very excited. "Tails! now that you're here that might just work!"

The young lynx jumped up and flung open the doors of a cabinet, her head disappearing as she fossicked around in the dark, reappearing triumphantly moments later with a huge smile, a screwdriver in one hand and what looked like a small wire antennae in the other.

"Sorry to steal your thunder Tails but I actually did think of that idea already, If it makes you feel any better though I had a seven year head start". Nicole walked over to the opposite wall and bent down to where she was in line with a large metal panel. "You see this panel?" she pointed, a slightly manic glint in her eye. "This panel is my worst enemy, it's the devil, it's Robotnik's evil twin; this panel is every bad thing that has ever happened to anyone ever, concentrated and formed into a thin sheet of metal. Do you know why Tails? Do you know why?"

Tails looked on with puzzled amusement "Err, well me and the panel haven't really been introduced yet, I'd prefer not to make a judgement"

"I'll tell you why!" Nicole almost shouted "It's because behind this panel is the only way to connect to the power mains in the whole lab. It's the only place I can attach something like, oh I don't know... this nanite controller array! It's the only thing stopping me from getting out of this horrible room, and guess what?" Nicole held up the screwdriver and proceeded to try to unscrew the first screw of the panel. She put her whole body into the motion, her face turning red with effort, her white teeth bared against the strain. She let out a fierce roar of frustration and collapsed forward onto her hands, exhausted. "Stupid weak body! stupid, stupid, panel!"

"Wow" managed Tails as he looked on at the pretty girl panting against the wall, "and I thought I was messed up."

Nicole turned and slumped with her back against the wall and pointedly extended her arm out while holding the screwdriver. She stared daggers at Tails.

"I'm kind of scared now" said Tails.

"Get over here bio boy" growled Nicole "before I decide to take out my super-human strength on you!"

Tails gingerly made it to his feet and slowly hobbled over to where Nicole was sitting, joining her on the floor and grabbing the screwdriver she plonked unceremoniously in his outstretched hand. He tried the screw. It was in tight alright, but nothing out of the ordinary, at least not for an aircraft mechanic. He tried to hide his satisfaction as he pulled the first dislodged screw out of the hole. "I think you loosened it for me..." he offered unconvincingly. Nicole crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Ten screws later, Tails shuffled back and with a quick tug the panel came cleanly off the wall exposing a jumble of heavy power cables and fuses. This was it alright, the main power outlet that Nicole had predicted.

Tails turned to Nicole and was about to say something when suddenly he stopped; she was crying. Silently, Nicole took the flimsy antennae she had built and handed it to Tails, pointing at a small box in the corner of the exposed wires where some outlet plugs were visible. Dutifully Tails inserted the cables of the antennae into the plug and a small LED lit up at its base.

"I can feel them" said Nicole, her face still wet with tears, "Tails they're still here, I can feel them, I can... control them." She closed her eyes and concentrated deeply and slowly, as if by magic, a tiny spot in mid air started to glow. There, right before Tail's eyes an object was gradually forming, a silvery metal rectangle that rotated slowly in the air. It sat there for a moment, glowing, and then Nicole opened her eyes and reached out, plucking it from space; she extended her arm and opened her fingers, offering it to Tails.

"Th-thank you Nicole" said Tails as he picked up the small token from her hand and examined it between his fingers. He looked up at the lynx, meeting her eyes with an expression of humbled gratitude. "What is it meant to be?".

Nicole tears had stopped now and a sly smirk had returned to her face. "Oh that, that's just a souvenir for you, It's a scale replica of this stupid panel. Maybe if you carry it around with you you'll learn to love it as much as I did!"


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12 - Starting Again**

"Whew! okay I take it back Nicole, I should have waited for you to fix the elevator!" Tails' slightly breathless voice echoed back down the slide, the rope he was carrying around his shoulders dangling vertically down into the space below him as he suspended himself against the walls with his arms and legs outstretched.

"Told you so!" came Nicole's echoing laugh. It made Tails grin, he'd been grinning a lot lately.

One last time Tails pushed himself upwards off the wall towards the cracks of light that peeked through the old door above him and finally his hands found flat ground. Curling his fingers over the edge he pulled himself upwards and hauled his body onto the small platform at the top of the shaft. With a triumphant shove the door flung open, flooding the small entry space with light and warmth. Tying the rope to a sturdy anchor Tails called back down the hole. "Alright Nicole, ready to go!", he waited a moment then felt a tug and started to reel in the slack. The rope formed a pile beside him and soon he could see a large grey box ascending into the light, trailing it was a length of power cable that snaked away back into the darkness. When it finally reached the top Tails grabbed the package with both hand and hauled it to the side allowing the rope to fall back down. "Okay I'm heading out, I'll see you in a second" he yelled and with box in hands Tails got up and stepped outside.

What a difference a few days can make! The sky was a vivid sapphire blue and Tails had to shield his eyes against the blazing midday sun. Squinting, he could now see clear out to the hills in the distance, hills still green with life-giving plants. The ground, once a river of black mud, crunched under his feet, now a checkerboard of crusty tiles baking in the sun. In places, humid steam rose from the earth and caused a mirage-like rippling effect out in the distance.

Setting down the box gently Tails opened the lid and inspected the contents. Two medium sized antennas, collapsed for space, a remote control, some tools, and a solid block of strange material that seemed to shimmer and change colour, oscillating in waves between light and dark grey.

Not wasting a moment the young fox eagerly set to work, pulling the first antennae from the box he extended out its telescoping limbs until it stood almost as high as him, a few tightenings with the screwdriver locked it into place and before he knew it he was connecting one branch of the power cable to its base. Touching the transmitter with his exposed hand Tails recoiled as a slight jolt snapped at his finger. Yep, it's working. He grabbed the remote control from the box and hurried back over to the tree stump. "Hey Nicole, we're all set. I recommend you bring a hat, it's boiling up here." Pushing the power button on the side of his remote, Tails stood back and then suddenly, without fanfare, Nicole appeared before of him.

She stood silently, scanning the surroundings, an expression of abject horror quickly dawning on her face. Her lips moved, as if to gasp, but no sound emerged and she raised her hand to covered her mouth as if protecting herself from corrupted air. "Tails, it's all gone. All of it" she said, looking into his eyes but also through them, her gaze had no focus, a thousand yard stare.

Tails moved to comfort her but she resisted, holding out her hand and closing her eyes. "No, Tails... It's okay, I knew it would be bad, I just wasn't quite prepared, for... this" she stood quietly for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "What's done is done. We can't change the past"

Tails nodded supportively, "I wish your first trip outside didn't have to be so bleak Nicole."

"There's only one thing to do" said Nicole, a new positive energy radiating in her voice "We'll have to clean it up. Can you help me with the nanite array?" she asked as she reached into the box and pulled out the second transmitter.

The second antennae fully spread was slightly larger than the last and it took two to open, Tails plugged in the power cable and almost instantaneously a barely audible high-pitched sound rang through the air. Nicole picked up the strange metallic cube from the box and placed it on the ground, "Alright guys lets see what you can do" she said. She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated.

"It's working!" exclaimed Tails as he watched the small cube slowly spread out into a powdery mist that seemed to seep into the ground. "How long will it take before they can start to rebuild things again?" he asked.

"It might take overnight before they're able to start replicating exponentially but until then we'll have to wait." Nicole glanced at Tails, "Oh, but I guess one quick thing couldn't hurt though", she said and concentrated on the place where the nanites had disappeared. A misty cloud formed, encircling an oddly shaped object that was rising from the ground, a minute later the cloud dissipated as Nicole bent down to pick up her creation. "Here you go" she laughed and handed it to Tails "You looked like you could use these".

"Wow, sunglasses, Awesome!" said Tails and quickly donned the pair of silvery shades.

"Who said computers were for nerds huh?" quipped Nicole. She looked out into the distance, scanning the surroundings, and then pointed confidently "If my old maps are still worth anything the Tornado should be this way. Ready to go?"

"Ready!" replied Tails with a nod.

"I think that pile up ahead is the remains of the control tower." Said Tails as he and Nicole trudged over the crusty landscape, he looked back over his shoulder at the stump which was growing smaller in the distance "Geez I really took a wrong turn the other night didn't I?"

As they drew closer the ruins of the control tower loomed over them and in its shadow Tails could now clearly see the battered wings of his precious plane.

"Gosh it took quite a beating" said Nicole "You're lucky you weren't more badly injured".

They stood beside the fuselage and inspected the damage. The mud had taken its toll, completely covering the undercarriage of the plane in a thick black blanket. Amazingly the cockpit was still dry and as Tails pried open the cracked windscreen he was hit with a wave of hot air from the greenhouse it created.

Tails rummaged around head-first in the back of the cabin, his legs sticking out into the air. "I found it!" he yelled and his head popped back up, a small detector device in his hand. Jumping down to the ground he sidled up to where Nicole was standing and turned it on. A repetitive clicking noise began and some numbers appeared on the display.

"Hmm it's just like I thought" said Nicole "background radiation levels are pretty normal."

"Hang on a second, I have a hunch" said Tails, climbing back up onto the Tornado, and scanning the surroundings, "over there he yelled" pointing towards a dome shaped object in the distance, "Try pointing it that, way".

Nicole swung the detector around and suddenly the clicking sped up. She squinted into the distance and then called back up to Tails "Is that- Is that what I think it is?".

"I'm afraid so" sighed Tails as he slid back to the ground. "I walked there on the night I crashed thinking it might be a shelter. As far as I could see it's mostly still intact or at least the part that's still above ground is, old Eggbreath sure knew how to build them sturdy. Geez, it's a good thing I didn't find a way in isn't it? If I got radiation poisoning just from standing outside Imagine how bad it must be on the inside?"

Nicole nodded "Yep, If my calculations are correct it's likely that some sort of nuclear reactor core has gone critical and started leaking inside. If you'd somehow managed to get exposed to that kind of radiation you'd either become a super-hero or you'd turn into hero soup. Probably the latter."

"Hmm, super hero eh?" said Tails scratching his chin in mock contemplation "would I be able to fly?"

Nicole rolled her eyes "Definitely no risk of super intelligence."

Tails laughed "Come on, let's get a bit closer and check it out." he started walking and then stopped, noticing that Nicole wasn't following. He turned to see her pondering something.

"Hey Tails" she said, and gestured him closer "come here a moment", Tails raised an eyebrow but moved to join her.

"Can I have your sunglasses for a second?"

Tails, perplexed, took off his shades and handed them to Nicole.

"Hey, I need those for seeing and stuff!" he yelled as Nicole suddenly crushed the glasses in her hands. She began to focus and the broken pieces fell apart into a fine powder, a little heap which she sprinkled on the ground.

"Sorry I had to do that, I should have thought to bring more nanites with me but thankfully those sunglasses still had a high concentration from before. If we seed this area now the Nanites should take hold here much quicker and you can use them when you start to rebuild the Tornado"

Tails shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted annoyedly at Nicole. "But my eyes! And what If somebody sees me, they'll think I'm uncool!"

"I'm willing to take that risk" said Nicole with a smirk and started to walk, gesturing casually to follow. Tails grumpily capitulated.

The sun seemed to beat down harder than before as they approached the Death Egg, any wind which existed had dropped and a hazy wall of heat radiated up off the ground, slightly distorting the shape of nearby objects. The dead stillness of the sweltering black desert was complete, interrupted only by the sound of crunching footsteps and the quickening tick of the radiation detector.

"Stop" warned Nicole as they drew within the last hundred meters of the towering metal fortress. "If we go any further the radiation will start to get dangerous, we'll need to inspect from here."

"What are we looking for exactly?" asked Tails "I've already checked all around the perimeter, there's no opening..."

"Well hopefully we'll get a spike in radiation if we point the detector at some points, that might indicate a structural weakness which we could use to get inside."

"Hmmm, good thought" Tails agreed and they started their slow walk around, careful not to get closer to the deadly wreckage. "So, assuming we can find a weak point, how do we actually get in, let alone retrieve the emerald? I'd offer to go myself but I have trouble sleeping when my whole body is glowing. Do you think you might be able to enter?"

"Maybe... but it probably won't be easy." Nicole conceded. "There's no way the holo projector will breach that armour, and any electronics are highly susceptible to radiation that intense. Perhaps if we could work out a way to seed the inside with Nanites I could use them to relay the holo signal and give myself enough strength to get to the emerald."

Nicole and Tails had now almost covered the perimeter of the Death egg and as they approached their starting position, there was a spike and the clicking of the detector instantly sped up until it was almost a whir.

"We found it!" Tails said enthusiastically as Nicole swung the device side to side taking note of where the highest reading was.

"You should probably wait here" she said to Tails who nodded seriously.

Nicole approached slowly, following the path of the highest readings. Fifty meters, fourty meters, as she walked, Tails noticed that her previously solid form was now flickering slightly, a fuzzy kind of interference that looked a bit like bad television reception. Nicole approached the wall and reached out to touch it, running her hand across the slightly rusting dusty surface. "I think this is a hatch" she called out, "Maybe for a weapon bay or a duct of some sort."

"Can you open it?" Called out Tails, squinting to get a better look.

Nicole tried to put her fingers into the small gap around the panel. Once she had a decent grip, she pulled outwards but there was no movement. She turned around and shook her head, "Sorry, not yet, I'm not strong enough without the nanites, we should come back when they're ready".

The sun was starting to set as Tails and Nicole walked back to base, stopping briefly at the Tornado so that Tails could collect a few more supplies. Nicole was quiet, she seemed deep in thought and Tails took a chance to reflect on the strange events that had led him to this moment. As he reminisced he surveyed the flat ruinous landscape, stretching out to the distant mountains. It was oddly beautiful in its stark, endless emptiness, like a giant minimalist painting bordered by the first hues of pink and orange that crept into the clear evening sky. Tails couldn't help but notice the way the light complemented Nicole's figure as she walked beside him, the way she held herself, her graceful walk. Suddenly he was hit by a powerful longing, something in him desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, to hold her; he squeezed his fist and closed his eyes, forcing the feelings back down. _What?! What are you thinking? You've gone crazy from the loneliness! Nicole would never be interested in you! Don't even think about it, you'll ruin everything!_

Eventually the couple reached the charred fake tree and Nicole seemed to emerge from her daydream. She turned to see that Tails was watching her. There was silence as their eyes met for a moment too long, repelling away like magnets in a flurry of embarrassed shyness.

"Man it was really good to get moving again today. We got a lot done huh?" said Tails to the ground, scratching the back of his head as he tried hard to break the awkwardness, "Actually, you're pretty handy to have around Nicole, you're the most useful person I've met all week."

"Oh my what an honour!" Nicole replied sarcastically "especially coming from the winner of my 'people I could turn into vapour with my Nanites award'." She leered at Tails with a hint of playful menace. "Oh that reminds me, I have something to show you!"

Tails pretended to look afraid "Does it involve me and being vaporised by nanites?"

"Only partially." said Nicole, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. "Come on!" she yelled, darting over to the tree-trunk entrance and jumping down the hole. Tails heart leapt for a moment as his mind raced with possibilities and he eagerly followed, taking one last look at the colourful sky he closed the door of the secret hideaway and entered the slide.

Tails emerged quickly and almost crashed into Nicole as she was picking herself up off the ground; the soft ground. Carpet? He looked up in surprise, Nicole had made some serious changes to the lab. Gone were the stark metal shelves and dusty benches, they had been replaced with wooden furniture and comfortable couches. The ground was now tiled and carpeted and the walls were painted with a fresh coat of white. On the shelves were boxes of fresh food and in the corner a refrigerator hummed quietly near a kitchen counter. Tails looked at the smiling girl with his awestruck face. "You even made me a bed!" he exclaimed, eyeing the extremely comfy looking mattress near the wall. "Nicole this is awesome! All this furniture and food, we could live down here forever"

"Well we could, but more importantly now we don't have to", Nicole smirked as she walked over to the elevator shaft. She pressed a button and almost instantly a platform descended from above with an airy 'whoosh'. "I told you I'd fix the elevator" she said, doing her best not to look smug. "Don't worry though, I left the rope in the slide, just in case you get bored and want to go climbing again."


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13 - Breakfast Plans**

The faint remnants of a strange dream swirled in Tail's head. There had been a mountain, T-pup, fireworks, Sonic... The fragmented pieces faded quickly as he slowly opened his eyes in the dim lab. Rolling on his side, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and peered at his watch, the little icon on the screen showed a raincloud.

 _Really! five days in a row?_

Tails groaned and seriously contemplated going back to sleep. Stretching his arms out wide he sat up on his mattress and glanced across the room at the flashing lights of the mainframe computer. Red, Nicole was awake. Tails looked around in disappointment, the lab was empty, _guess it's breakfast alone today..._

The light switch next to him yielded with a satisfying click and the gentle dimness of the lab grew into a warm glow. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Tails took his time to pull on his socks; a rush of happiness washed over him and he smiled guiltily, Nicole had cleaned his muddy boots for him again.

Pulling on his heavy rain coat Tails hoisted his tool bag over his shoulder, he sighed, relishing one last minute of dryness before stepping into the the glass capsule of the lift and pressing the button.

When the lift reached the surface the door whooshed open and the familiar sounds of a storm filled Tail's ears, heavy black and grey clouds rumbled overhead and the young fox braced himself as he disembarked, ready for the deluge. Suddenly it hit him. Nothing. Absolutely nothing... Tails looked around stunned, the wooden deck he stood on was dry and there were no raindrops in front of him; he held out his hand... empty. Tails looked over to the temporary rain shelter that Nicole had put up around the tree stump entrance and noticed that the make-shift roof was now gone. He looked again, and there in the center of the raised wooden platform sat Nicole, casually regarding him with a look of muffled amusement on her face.

"Hi Tails! Nice raincoat" she yelled out teasingly, "Aren't you a little overdressed?"

Tails shook his head in confusion and gave Nicole a thoroughly baffled look, he surveyed the black mud around the platform that, just yesterday had seemed like a small lake, now the water had dropped, and in places it was almost dry. Gesturing at the sky he mimed out raindrops with his fingers, motioning to the drying expanse around them and ending with a pointed shrug at Nicole. Nicole giggled and mimed out a reply by pointing at the sky, then herself and then giving two thumbs up.

The two continued to mime back and forth using increasingly indecipherable gestures as Tails crossed the short wooden walkway that bridged the elevator and tree stump platforms. When he reached the table Nicole was responding to his last mime by pretending to be a bird, because, why not?

"WHY AREN'T WE TALKING?" shouted Tails, making sure to lean in close for added effect.

Nicole jumped in her seat and threw him a steely glare. "You're a terrible mime" she said bluntly, crossing her arms "Terrible mimes don't get breakfast." Tails tried to hide his cheeky grin as he sat down across from her, grabbing a pen he scribbled on a piece of paper. 'Sorry', holding it up with an apologetic look.

"Alright, technically that's not miming either" said Nicole.

Tails mimed disappointment

"...But I'll give you a break because today is special" she added and in front of Tails' eyes, a plate of pastries and some mugs appeared, butter and honey on the side, the scent of hot coffee wafted through the air.

"Wow! Thanks Nicole" said Tails earnestly, "but seriously though, I don't get it, what's going on here? why aren't we getting wet right now?"

"Food first" said Nicole as she grabbed a croissant and took a bite, Tails gave her a quizzical look but gave in and grabbed a donut, savouring the taste of his first sip of coffee.

After a few bites Nicole spoke up. "Okay so yesterday, as you know, the nanites finished rebuilding the outer wall. But what I didn't tell you is that means there's now nanite control arrays and holo field projectors around the whole perimeter of the city. So what you ask? Well, using those we were able to re-establish a force field, just like in the days before the bombs!" Nicole explained excitedly.

"But that force field never used to stop the rain from coming in did it?" asked Tails through a mouthful of donut. "How are you doing that?"

"No you're right, but the cool thing is you can tune the force field so it works on just about anything. If I wanted to I could tune it so that it blocks out dust or bullets or even foxes." Nicole snapped her fingers hammily "Dang it, If only I had thought of that earlier!"

Tails pretended not to smile as he gave Nicole a deadpan stare then looked back out at the drying expanse; he could see the walls in the distance stretching out in an almost circular perimeter but he also noticed one spot was different, a small inner ring separate from the rest, inside it he could just make out a metallic dome.

"The death egg," Nicole explained, following his gaze "I couldn't get the nanite field to stay stable so close to the radiation so I had to isolate it. It's going to be tough to get in there Tails, even just building near it was difficult, have you had any thoughts on how we might do it?" She asked, pinching the last croissant.

"We can't just pump them in there can we?" Tails said scratching his head "they'd be destroyed before they could reach the center."

Nicole frowned and nodded, picking up the honey and squirting bursts onto her buttered breakfast.

As Tails watched a light bulb suddenly flashed In his mind. "What if..." he paused, mental gears turning "What if we shoot the nanites in there?"

"Shoot... them?" Nicole's looked up, perplexed.

"Yeah, like with missiles" said Tails, gesturing with his hands excitedly "I've got some armour piercing missiles on the Tornado already. Maybe if we added nanites to the warhead we could fire them through the hull and the explosions would disperse Nanites at just the right points."

Nicole, exercised her best expression of impartial judgement, as she took a sip of coffee and then raised a curious eyebrow. "You know, that actually might be crazy enough to work" she said "If we pointed a control array directly through the entrance we found, It should be able to relay a signal through the insides, If you kept firing and adding more fresh nanites It might give me just enough time to access the emerald"

"Great!" exclaimed Tails, "Well the Tornado is almost finished and I can start working on the missiles right away. If I can work fast enough we might even be able to try it tomorrow."

Nicole nodded enthusiastically.

"How about you Nicole, what are are you going to do now that the walls are up?" asked Tails.

Nicole thought for a second and then frowned slightly, "Hmmm, I don't really know, I should get started on building some houses for all the refugees that are going to turn up but until the ground dries out there's not much point."

Nicole and Tails locked eyes in silence and suddenly Tails was very aware that they were alone together. His mind seemed to go fuzzy and all his systems switched to manual. "Would you... errr... maybe you'd like to come help me on the Tornado?" he managed to say "I mean you definitely don't have to but maybe if you have nothing you'd rather do y'know?".

Nicole blushed slightly, "I... I'd be honoured Tails, are you sure you wouldn't mind me messing with the Tornado?"

"No of course not" replied Tails earnestly, "You're a great designer, I'd be really interested to see what you can come up with."

Nervous excitement shot through Nicole. She flashed a smile at Tails and swiveled quickly in her chair, back towards the Tornado, just in time to hide her blushing cheeks.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14 - Cracking the Egg**

Tails stood back, admiring his now polished plane as it gleamed in the cloud-dappled morning light. "Ever considered a career as an Autopilot?" He called out jokingly as he watched Nicole fiddling with the controls in the now refurbished cockpit. Nicole stuck out her tongue and pretended to pilot the plane into a dive,"Flying enemy fox detected, taking evasive maneuvers!" she cried out, swerving wildly left and right and causing the ailerons to flap up and down comically. She stopped her act and looked out at her amused spectator "Hey Tails, do you still fly yourself anymore? With your Tails I mean, can you still do it?"

Tails twirled his bushy tails around quickly but halfheartedly, kicking up dust behind him "No, not for years, I doubt if I still can even" he admitted, a hint of regret in his voice.

Nicole half-smiled sympathetically then stood up and swung herself out of the cockpit, jumping to the ground. She walked backwards until she stood next to Tails, joining him in admiring the fruits of their labours. They stood like that for a minute until Tails finally broke the silence "Are you ready for this?" he asked, looking seriously at Nicole.

Nicole nodded with confidence, "I was built ready" she quipped. "The panel is open, the cable is ready and the nanite control array is in position, once you start firing the missiles In the planned sequence we should have about five minutes."

"Lets do it then" said Tails, and boarded his plane. Donning his goggles, he flicked a switch and the repaired engine purred into life. He gave a thumbs up to Nicole and started his takeoff, Nicole's newly installed turbo-charger sending the plane into the air with a burst of acceleration. Nicole watched the Tornado climb upwards and into the cloudy sky, Its bright fog lights creating a cone of light through the mist. She closed her eyes and snapped out of existence, appearing again instantly just outside the small inner wall that surrounded the broken Death Egg.

Nicole looked around and spotted the long cable they had laid out earlier, she dashed over to where it lay in a heap and wrapped the end of it over her shoulder, securing it to herself.

"Alright I'm coming around for the first pass, Go!" Came Tail's crackling voice over the radio and Nicole scrambled over the wall. A wave of radiation hit her as she passed through the shield, she glanced at her body and noticed small pixels of light seemed to drop in and out creating a hazy distortion that was disconcerting to look at.

The roar of a propeller grew closer overhead and Nicole looked up to see the Tornado diving out of the clouds behind her, two missiles left the undercarriage, fired with pinpoint accuracy, and penetrated the hull of the steel fortress. A muffled thump rang out from within and suddenly Nicole could feel the nanites' presence. _let's do this!_

Rushing forward she clambered headfirst into the waist-high open shaft. It was very narrow, barely wide enough to wiggle through, and she found herself quietly praising the heavens that she had picked a slender form. After about four meters, there was a claustrophobic turn upwards and she pushed up, popping through a ventilation grill that lined the hallways of the vast metal fortress. She strained to look into the darkness, the smell of stale air and leaking mechanical fluids filled her lungs. Switching on her night vision senses didn't help too much, the air was dusty, thrown up by the sudden explosions. She could feel the nanites around her, they were dying quickly in the intense radiation, she concentrated hard to gather them together.

The death egg had landed on its side and the once level corridors now leaned steeply up into the air. Nicole grabbed onto the walls, vents, handles, anything she could get a hold of and pulled herself towards an open doorway that she could see up above her. 'four minutes', the timer on her wrist flashed ominously. Reaching the doorway, Nicole pulled her body over and sat on the frame, surveying the area in front of her. A pitch black elevator shaft lay nearly on its side, a quick path upwards towards the control room at the top. She scrambled inside and struggled upwards, feeling herself getting weaker, the strength of the holo emitter outside now only reaching her through the bridge of nanites she had created. She looked down at her body, semi-translucent and shifting in distorted waves, her vision started to weaken, black spots appearing and disappearing before her eyes.

Up ahead, a dim glow shone through the gap between heavy elevator doors, Nicole shut off her night vision, looking down into the space below. The control deck, the vast circular room where Robotnik had once sat, lay on its side creating a deep cavernous pit. In the middle a ring of control panels stuck out of the floor sideways leaving a skewed horizontal platform and in the very centre of those sat the chaos emerald, encased in a transparent barrier, an unearthly green glow escaped from within.

The death egg shook and dust flew into the air, "Three minutes Nicole" came Tails' distorted voice.

 _Now what?_ Nicole thought hard for a moment, surveying the deep open void beneath her, she looked at the cable in her hand and inspiration struck. Pulling on the line she gathered some slack and then lowered it through the gap until it hung down past the control panels, dangling just beyond the protruding ledge.

 _Here goes nothing._ Nicole looped the top of the cable around an exposed beam and tugged sharply, ensuring stability. Her heart pounding as she grabbed a hold and lowered her legs through the gap in the door, squeezing through until she hung by her hands just below the frame. She could feel her hands slipping on the cable as she quickly descended, hand over hand, the nanites that made up part of her body were dying quickly, it was a uncomfortable feeling, sharp and distracting, almost... painful? Finally she reached the jutting control panels' edge and swung herself forwards, then backwards, then forwards again with an almighty lunge throwing herself onto the ledge, sheet metal crumpling under her uneasily, she crouched, cable in hand trailing up into the darkness.

"One min*** lef****icole, I'm firing th***ast missi***" A volley of small thuds barely registered as Nicole knelt down and studied the control station below her feet.

Each panel was connected with six screws, set deep into their sides. Struggling against the crackling lines and blotches that clouded her vision Nicole knelt down and pulled the screwdriver from her pocket, barely able to hold it up, she moved her shaking hand towards the first screw and tried to turn. It didn't move.

 _No… No. NO! Not again!_

Panic seized the lynx as she grabbed the handle with both hands and struggled with all her might.

 _No! This isn't happening! The emerald! The portal! Tails…_

Nicole could feel the nanites dying around her, her body was getting weaker, her blurring vision now clouded by a stream of desperate tears. The cable she held in her hand suddenly slipped, phasing through her like she was a ghost. She fell to her knees as the radiation ripped at her holographic form, tearing chunks away from her limbs and body like an invisible wind ripping at tissue paper. It... hurt... badly! This was what pain felt like! She panicked as her vision flickered in and out, her heart was racing, her head was throbbing. The last thing she saw as she faded to black was a pulsating green glow. The chaos emerald taunted her from its impenetrable cage, It glinted off the smooth metal panel, highlighting a small inscribed word. 'Genesis'.

A cloud of black dust drifted lazily downwards, kicked up by the barrage of missiles that had hit the death egg. Not far away, on the crusty mud, Nicole reappeared, kneeling down on one knee. Panting heavily she tried to stand but collapsed and fell forward in exhaustion, her holographic form weak and flickering, nearly transparent.

"Nicole! Are you alright?" Tails had landed nearby and was running to her side. Dark grey thunder clouds rumbled overhead as he reached her on the open black plains.

Nicole's heart was racing, her vision blurry and her head was pounding, virtual adrenaline shot through her system as she struggled to re-catch her breath. Regret and despair filled her mind, _The emerald - I can't do it, the radiation is too strong! I was wrong, I'm always wrong! Oh No, Tails will be devastated!_

Tails knelt beside her and watched her with deep concern. Instinctively he put his arm around her shoulders and steadied her as she regained her composure. "Nicole are you alright?", "What happened in there?"

Nicole looked up, her face a picture of shame, She was silent, her lips were trembling, her mouth moved but the words wouldn't come.

 _I failed! Tails will never forgive me! There has to be another way, some way to fix this._

Tails' excited smile was quickly fading to a look of deep concern.

A thought entered Nicole's mind, a terrible, scary, dark thought that made her cold with fear. _No I can't... there has to be another way! There must be -_

Nicole looked in Tail's eyes and forced a smile. "I… I did it Tails." She said emptily, "The chaos emerald is connected…"


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15 - No Other Way**

"Nicole you're so amazing! Now we can save everyone!"

Nicole stood out on the deck staring wistfully at the cloudy night sky, Her eyes were fixed on one spot out in the distance, the same place she had stood watching yesterday as the shrinking outline of Tail's biplane had finally disappeared from view. Tail's parting words echoed through her mind.

She sighed deeply, the hollow feeling in her stomach that she had been trying to ignore now felt unbearably heavy, threatening to drag her down into the black mud. Her throat was dry and her eyes were bleary, it had been a night without defragmenting, a night without sleep.

The lake of rings, it had always seemed like infinite energy, enough power to run a city, to run her processors. But to run the portal? How many times had she poured through her data banks, checking and rechecking her calculations? How many endless search queries turning up nothing. There was no other way around it, the radiation of the death egg was too strong. The lake of rings… it could power the portal but it would only be enough if... if... _If only Rotor was here, he'd know what to do!_ thought Nicole mournfully, bittersweet memories of her lost friend filled her mind and added to the crushing sense of hopelessness that was building inside her. She tore her eyes away from the sky and a second later she was gone, her holographic body, fading quickly into the darkness.

The young lynx reappeared on the edge of a forest clearing, her toes settling softly in the dewy grass. The familiar sight of the Freedom Fighters headquarters stood before her, still and serene in the breaking dawn. She dragged herself through the front entrance and unlocked the vault-like door that led to the command centre, a big white room filled with work stations and giant screens. Images of virtual people and places flashed on the monitors, they seemed so utterly meaningless now, pointless things that didn't really exist. Finding a chair in a dark corner, Nicole slumped down and rested her head in her hands, her elbows propped up on the bench in front of her. A pressure was growing inside her mind, it felt heavy and hot, she closed her eyes tightly and covered her face with her hands, fighting to hold back tears.

"Nicole?" a soft hand gently touched her shoulder, "Nicole, are you okay?". Virtual Sally had quietly entered the room, and now stood watching her friend with sincere concern. "Sweetie, what's wrong?".

Nicole sniffed, her throat was dry and her voice wavered slightly, "Oh.. Sally, I'm fine, I'm just... I'm just not feeling well" she managed, turning to give an unconvincing smile and then once again cradling her head in her hands.

"No... You're not okay, are you?" said Sally as she approached, sitting down in the chair next to Nicole, she kept her hand on her shoulder and tried to make eye contact. Nicole didn't look up, she didn't want to talk, all that seemed to exist was the deep pain she was feeling, fiercely she fought a losing battle against the tears that had started to stream down her face.

Sally put her arm around Nicole and squeezed tightly. A minute passed as they sat together in silence.

"When I have a problem sometimes it helps to talk about it" Sally said comfortingly.

Nicole was silent but finally looked up, her eyes clouded with tears. "Sally... Do you love Sonic?" she asked.

Sally blushed, and paused in surprise. "Well errrr yes Nicole, I guess I do. I mean we're off and on and everything but, well, yeah, I'm in love with him."

"How do you know?" followed Nicole, a desperate look in her eyes. "What does it mean to be in love?"

"Well, It's hard to explain really" Sally said, pausing to think carefully "When you're in love with someone they seem perfect to you, even if you know they have problems they just don't seem important. When you're really in love you want to spend all of your time with them, sometimes just being near them makes you feel high as a kite."

Sally paused and looked at the crying lynx, "Does someone make you feel that way Nicole?" she asked with an understanding look. "It can be difficult to deal with."

Nicole grew tense and didn't speak. She thought about Tails. Their time together had only just ended and yet already it felt like some sort of magical daydream. The stolen glances, the electric silences. Each night they would join the gang at freedom HQ, with Tails it had all seemed so real again. Watching movies, playing games, for fleeting moments their eyes would meet and Nicole would forget to breathe. She thought about their long conversations late into the night, talking about everything and nothing, Tails would get tired and go to bed and she would lie awake, heart pounding, fighting the urge to watch him sleep.

"You've got it bad sister" Said Sally with a slight smile, watching her daydreaming friend. "Is that the problem? Does he not love you back?"

Nicole jolted up in embarrassed, "No! I mean - I don't know - I mean no! it's not like that! we're not like that..." she blurted out abruptly.

Sally raised an eyebrow unconvinced.

"Sally, what would you do If you had to choose between being with Sonic and Saving the World? What if the only way to save Sonic and everyone else was to never see him again?"

Sally thought for a moment "Oh, well, now that's not an easy question to answer" she replied "I guess I had to make that decision when I turned the roboticizer on myself. I don't really remember now exactly why, but in that moment I knew it was the right thing to do."

Nicole listened and nodded gently, she was quiet for a minute, staring off into space. finally she broke the silence. "Thank you sally, that helps" she replied "I think I know what I have to do now."


	16. Chapter 16

**PART 3 - Escape to Eden**

 **CHAPTER 16 - A Passionate Reunion**

 _Argh! damnit this is getting ridiculous!_ lamented Tails as he closed his eyes and clenched his fist. _Nicole. Nicole. Nicole. NICOLE!_ a thought so sweet it hurt, _why can't I think of anything else?!_ Concentrating hard, he grit his teeth and pulled the strap tight on the cargo hold of the Tornado, the last strap, _finally!_ he was ready for takeoff.

A gap had appeared in the endless blanket of grey clouds and for once a pocket of sky was bright above Cocoa island. The reflection of the clear sky painted a patch of the sea a sparkling azure blue, ending sharply in a murky brown where a fresh tower of clouds loomed near the horizon. Though bruised by the storms the little island was still quite a paradise and as Tails guided the nose of the Tornado into the air, he looked back on the cabin that he had lived in for the last five years and felt a slight pang of loss.

Five years alone, and yet somehow that time now seemed so weak and trivial compared to the burning frantic desperation of the last weeks spent on Cocoa Island. It was as if he part of him was missing. Tails noted the dark spots under his eyes in the mirror, he hadn't been sleeping well. The sooner he'd finished his work, the sooner he could go back. The sooner he could see her again. _Nicole, Nicole - get out of my head!_

It was an uneventful flight, a bit of turbulence here, a small course correction there, but overall smooth and mindless. The hours passed and before he drifted off to sleep Tails once again spotted the lights of freedom town peeking through the clouds, It was only a short glimpse but enough to notice something different. _It's darker down there than I remember. heavier clouds? no... less lights_

By the time Tails' autopilot system woke him up it was early evening and the last rays of the sun were peeking over a thick black cloud bank. He dove down into the storm, shaking up and down in the turbulence as he descended blindly through a dense wall of greyish darkness. Tails was relieved as he spotted a flashing red beacon approaching quickly from ahead. Nicole had said she would repair the runway lights, she'd kept her promise.

The moment Tails was free of the clouds he gasped. The sight before him was something out of a fantasy, like a diamond in a coal mine, a small circle of light shone out from the blackness of the endless muddy wasteland. As the oasis grew closer Tails could see that the glow was made up from hundreds of separate lights that illuminated the now-green space within the walls. He throttled back, extending flaps and, through the a veil of misty rain, started his final descent into Mobotropolis. In the distance, something else caught his eyes, a group of figures carrying torches across the muddy expanse, _refugees..._ , he realised and suddenly everything felt uncomfortably real, _what if the portal doesn't work? will they have come all this way for nothing?_

The Tornado passed through the dome-shaped outer shield and immediately the raindrops stopped, Tails was amazed to see the roofs of houses, the tops of trees and a network of pathways that now occupied large portions of the once barren inner walls. The Tornado settled gently onto the end of a new smooth tarmac and coasted to a stop. A group of people nearby, some emaciated and weary looking had seen the landing and moved forward excitedly to meet the visitor from the skies.

"It's Tails the fox" gasped an old lady rabbit as the rain-splattered windscreen of the Tornado opened up and Tails peered out.

"He was Sonic's best friend", "One of the freedom fighters" came the excited murmurs from the crowd.

Tails stepped out of the cockpit and smiled humbly, giving an awkward wave and jumping down to the ground, _all these people, they still remember me?_ He felt a sudden pressure, these people were looking up to him, they saw him as a leader.

"Hi everyone, I'm Tails, Nicole's friend." He spoke up as he approached the murmuring group, "It's good to see so many of you have made it here already. I'm sure Nicole has already explained what's going on and how we plan to try to fix things... I'm sorry I'm not much of a speaker so I don't really have anything profound to say but If anyone needs anything I'm here to do whatever I can to help." Tails looked around at the expectant admiring faces and felt uncomfortably unworthy. "Has um... has anyone seen Nicole?" he asked slightly awkwardly to the silent crowd.

A young teenage badger boy spoke "I think she's at the greenhouses organising food for tonight" he pointed to the other side of the newly formed city where Tails could just make out a row of glass buildings visible over the rooftops.

"Thank you" said Tails and the silent crowd parted as he started towards the gates. As he passed, a little girl tugged at her mother's dress "Mummy, who's Sonic the Hedgehog mummy?" Her mother held her hand as she watched Tails pass by. "He was a great hero sweetheart, he gave his life to save us" she whispered. Tails felt a pang of sadness, _she never knew him, he died before she was born..._

Tails fought the urge to run as he weaved his way through the clean, open streets, briefly waving and smiling at the small groups of refugees that stopped and whispered excitedly as he passed. Many of them seemed tired and frail but most looked happy, thankful that they have finally found light, warmth and food amidst the growing darkness. Rounding a final corner, Tails saw the edge of a big green park. In the middle, surrounded by trees was a big deep pond which mobians were sitting around, enjoying the greenery. A pump, well hidden by reeds was piping water down a gravel path to three long glass greenhouses. Tails followed the path, gravel crunching under his boots and craned his neck to see past the thick plants that filled the greenhouse in dense rows.

He reached the second building and a group of people standing at the far end came into view. Tufts of black fur on long brown ears poked out above the wall of plants and his heart skipped a beat as he hurried through the door to see Nicole teaching a small class of people how to operate some hydroponics equipment. He couldn't quite hear what she was saying but her smiling face and optimistic attitude had clearly won over her crowd who were watching with keen interest. Tails too was spellbound, after weeks of thinking about her, of imagining this moment, seeing her felt slightly unreal, he stood and watched, frozen in place, his heart racing and adrenaline shooting through him.

One of the refugees heard something and turned to glance backwards and instinctively Nicole's eyes followed. She spotted the young fox standing awkwardly in the doorway and immediately her face lit up with surprise and excitement. "Tails!" she yelled out slightly breathlessly and rushed forward, mid conversation, lost in the moment "You're back!". Tails gave a half wave and took a few dazed steps forward, meeting Nicole with her arms outstretched they pulled each other in tightly, almost needily, holding on for just a bit too long. Blushing and smiling shyly as they stepped back Tails could hear a muffled laugh from the group behind Nicole, he looked up to see the class whispering to each other.

"It's so good to see you again Tails" said Nicole in a more even tone, evidently embarrassed by her emotional display.

"You too Nicole" Replied Tails, _she could never even guess!_ He looked around at the greenhouse, "This place is amazing! The whole town, how the heck did you get so much done in such a short amount of time?"

Nicole blushed, "Well the Nanites are pretty incredible, and I've had a lot of help! The refugees are very resourceful and are already doing a lot of volunteering. I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it without Knuckles though, he's been a godsend, It's been so good to see him again."

"Wait - Knuckles is here already!?" Tails replied in surprise.

"Yes, he arrived about a week ago, he's been helping out so much with organising all the new arrivals. In fact, you've just reminded me, he should be back any minute now, we should go meet him at the gates."

Nicole hurried over to her group of students and excused herself, gesturing to Tails as she passed "C'mon, this way" and together they started for the big gate that Tails could see in the distance. As they grew closer, Tails spotted mobians up on the wall, a few of them held big searchlights which they shone out onto the plains. "Open the gates!" yelled out someone from up on the wall and a few of the mobians down below rushed forward and pulled back on the heavy wooden doors. Through the widening gap in the door Tails could see bobbing torches moving slowly through the mud, twinkling in the long streaks of falling rain.

The dark figures grew closer and now Tails could make out faces beneath hooded raincoats, lit up by the searchlights above. Dirty, weary and drawn, a column of tattered survivors plugging through ankle deep mud emerged out of the haze of raindrops. At the back of the column, a group of the strongest people were pulling a makeshift sled where some children and elderly sat shivering in the cold. Leading them was a figure bent over and pulling with all his might, red quills stained with mud. Knuckles the echidna, shouting above the wind, rallying his troops for the final push.

As the survivors entered the gates a cheer went up and a group of volunteers rushed forwards with towels and blankets, Knuckles crossed the threshold pulling the sled behind him, he paused for a moment, catching his breath and then looked around at the people, his eyes were gleaming. "Welcome to Mobotropolis everyone." He shouted, "You're safe now"

"Knuckles! You made it!" shouted Tails and stepped out of the crowd to meet his old friend.

"Tails!" exclaimed knuckles and they met with a brotherly embrace.

Knuckles stepped back and peered at Tails

"Holy heck Tails, you've aged terribly" he joked, with a look of mock concern on his face.

"Yep, all those years of waiting for you to answer my radio calls will do that" Responded Tails, "It's funny you know, I'd always thought that crackly voice was just radio interference."

Knuckles laughed and slapped Tails on the back, He turned to face Nicole who was looking on with amusement. "Big group today Nicole" he said scanning over the latest refugees. "There's more waiting already, It'll be an even bigger next time."

Nicole's brow furrowed "It really must be getting pretty bad out there" she said with concern.

Knuckles glanced at Tails and their eyes with with a slight solemn nod.

"It's bad Nicole. What you're doing here is a very good thing"

By now most of the latest arrivals had been given clothes and blankets and were waiting patiently in small groups. Nicole glanced over "Excuse me guys, I need to show everyone where to go. The refugees put on a welcome dinner every time a new group comes so we can talk then."

"Yeah, sorry Tails, I'd love to stick around too but I'm dead on my feet, I'm going to catch a bit of rest I'll meet up with you later on this evening" chimed in Knuckles.

Tails nodded and smiled, watching as Knuckles left and Nicole started to gather the rabble. A group of volunteers lead the pack away towards a freshly built set of houses on the other side of town. Nicole stayed behind, assigning buddies to the stragglers and offering her arm to a confused looking old squirrel before leading the last motley followers off with the rest of the group. As she passed she threw Tails a little smile. Tails lifted his hand and smiled back, his heart leaping in his chest.

The afternoon passed quickly as Tails unpacked the Tornado in the new hangar. He inventoried the portal components he had brought and admired the many parts and pieces that Nicole had already built and neatly lined out for him. Eventually his watch flashed, 7:00 and he made his way back through the streets towards the park.

On the lawn near the lake a big group of people were spread out on blankets, others warmed themselves around a big camp fire that sent smoke high up into the cloudy night sky. As he drew closer Tails spotted the familiar shape of Knuckles' quills, he stood next to a big barbeque and was helping serve out hot dogs to a line of hungry people. Nicole sat at a table talking to a group of bright young looking volunteers, a surprising jolt of jealousy shot through Tails as he watched her listening to a handsome young man talking passionately about something. _Do they know each-other?_

Choosing not to interrupt their conversation Tails walked over to the barbeque pausing occasionally to smile and wave at the odd person that seemed to recognise him. "I thought he was dead, maybe sonic is still alive too" Tails overheard a whisper as he weaved his way around the back of the food line.

"Hey no cutters!" laughed Knuckles as Tails Joined him behind the grill.

"Hi Knuckles need a hand?" asked Tails as the echidna skillfully flipped up a hot dog onto a bun and shoved it at Tails.

"We're doing okay thanks mate, but let me introduce you to these guys" he waved a spatula at the group of mobians that were manning the barbeque. "They're kind of like community leaders, everyone's been hearing about your plan to build a portal and they really want to know more."

Tails nodded and smiled distractedly, glancing back over to where Nicole was still talking. _Didn't she see me? Did I do something wrong?_

"Hey Cass, John, this is Tails, the guy I've been telling you about!" said Knuckles over the noise of the crowd and soon Tails and Knuckles were surrounded by mobians as they discussed the plans of the coming weeks.

By 10:30 most of the guests had dissipated, exhausted from their trip or busy caring for their children and families. The remainder of the thinning crowd sat in small groups or danced around the fire to music that was playing from a nearby stereo. Tails helped Knuckles throw the remaining food into a big container and clean up the grill. Nicole, who had only wandered over briefly to say hello was back talking with the group of volunteers. Tails couldn't help but notice that the cool looking raccoon guy from earlier was now sitting right next to her, laughing just a bit too hard at her jokes.

Tiredness hit him suddenly, the euphoric lightness he had felt that afternoon had evaporated leaving behind an empty coldness and a lump in his throat. Tails thanked the volunteers and waved goodbye to Knuckles, walking alone through the dimmed streets of the city. The lift doors opened and he fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. _God I'm an idiot, of course she doesn't like me, she was only being nice to me because she was forced to!_ Tails cringed internally and covered his eyes with his hand. _Why would she ever want to be with someone like me?_


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17 - Life in Paradise**

'I'm sorry we didn't get to talk last night, meet me at 9:00 tonight in the server'

The note was small and Tails had almost missed it as he kicked back his covers and sat up in bed that morning. The dizzy excitement that had hit him like a wave only seemed to grow as the moment got closer.

The towering elliptical frame of the portal had been put in place by Nicole, it sat in the center of town rising up fifteen meters in the air at least; Tails, tools by his side, hung from the top by a harness. The giant solar lamps that had blazed all day, defiant against the black gloom of the perpetual clouds, had now been turned out and the crowds of refugees that bustled through the daytime streets had all but disappeared into their houses. For what seemed like the millionth time that day Tails checked his watch, _8:45pm, one last thing and then I'll leave._

They hadn't spoken today but he'd seen her, it was hard to miss the groups of people that seemed to follow her everywhere, people looked up to her, she brought them hope. If all the attention was distracting her it didn't show though, five new houses built in one day; Tails couldn't help but feel slightly inadequate as he inspected the three paltry particle emitters he had calibrated. It had been difficult to concentrate.

Tightening one last bolt, the young fox unclipped and carefully climbed down the metal frame to the ground, throwing his tools in the toolbox and starting for the tree stump entrance. His hands sweated slightly as he hurried through the still streets and a breathless feeling, almost like being winded, grew in his chest as he pressed the button for the lift and waited anxiously. Down below, in the dim light of the lab, a flashing green LED lit up on the server panel. _She's here!_ Tails put down his tool box and hurried over to the VR pad.

Pupils retracting, Tail's eyes slowly adjusted to the silvery light of the moon shining down on a warm, starry night. He was alone on a long narrow beach, a high rocky cliff face ran parallel to the shore, echoing the gentle sound of small breaking waves. The soft white sand squeaked slightly as he walked forward, punctuating the chorus of a thousand distant crickets. At the far end of the beach, Tails could see a sandy lagoon that met the cliff as a rocky pool, spanning it was a narrow bridge near a waterfall that cascaded down from above. The path ended at a rocky outcrop, jutting out into the waves. There, sitting at the end was a figure wearing a light summer dress and two long ears silhouetted in the moonlight.

Tails walked breathlessly, reaching the lagoon and crossing the bridge. His heart beat faster, he could see the side of Nicole's face as she stared serenely out toward the horizon. _My god she's beautiful!_ Tails felt lightheaded, He stood for a moment, just staring, unable to move, nervous fear churning in his stomach. He clenched his fist. _Alright this is it Tails, you can do it, on the count of three. One, two…_

"Hi Nicole" Tails spoke gently as approached her.

The young lynx turned quickly with a shy smile, her eyes, twinkling with excitement, met his for one intense moment and then repelled away in embarrassment.

"Hi Tails, I'm glad you came" she said grasping her hands together nervously, her focus shifting to the shimmering path that the moon made along the water.

"You… you wanted to talk about something?" Tails managed, sitting down next to her, his throat was extremely dry.

Nicole's eyes grew wide and she was silent for a moment as she looked at Tail's face "Err, yes I wanted to tell you…" she paused, and then sped up anxiously "I - I just wanted to say sorry that we haven't really had a chance to talk since you got back. I've been so busy."

Tails nodded "It's okay Nicole, the refugees need you, nobody else can do what you do. Besides, I don't need anyone to talk to, the voices in my head keep me company"

Nicole giggled, "I know, but, well, I guess... I just really wish we could spend more time together."

Tails noticed that Nicole had placed her hand flat on the rock next to his. They weren't looking at each other but he could feel an almost magnetic force between them, he slid his hand closer, ever so slowly, almost invisibly, terrified of breaking the moment. The side of his finger lightly touched her hand and electricity seemed to shoot through him as ever so gently he felt her push back. His heart hammered in his chest as he stared forward intently, dizzy with excitement.

Closing his eyes, Tails took a deep breath "Nicole, there's something… Something I've been wanting to tell you too." he said and turned towards her, still looking down nervously. Nicole turned to face him. "Ever since I found you again, I… "

Tails tried not to flinch as Nicole's fingers rested on his, their eyes finally meeting. "I've really enjoyed spending time with you."

"Me… me too Tails" said Nicole, staring deeply at him with excitement in her eyes.

Time seemed to slow down and the world disappeared as his next words caught in his throat. "Nicole, this is going to sound crazy and stupid, but when I'm with you I... I just get this feeling, I don't know what It is because I've never felt this way before but I think… I think I might l-"

BANG!

Everything flashed black and then jolted jarringly back into focus. The world was shaking, the long path of the moon on the water seemed to have fragmented, frayed like a ripped piece of cloth. Nicole gasped and grabbed Tails' arm as they both looked around frantically. Large black tears had formed in reality, distant parts of the beach and the cliffside had simply vanished or were flickering in and out existence, The virtual world was fracturing.

"What's happening?" said Tails in alarm, he looked at Nicole who was staring in shock at her body, it too was torn and flickering, Tails grabbed her arm, "Nicole! Nicole are you okay?"

The world went black again and with a thud Tails found himself lying on the floor of the lab, a painful bruise forming on the back of his head; the lights around him were flickering and the room was shaking. "Nicole!" he shouted above the loud rumbling sound that came from all directions, bracing against the wall and struggling up until he found the control panel for the server. The light was dim green and flashing "Primary systems damaged, backup systems online. The flickering map of the city on the console showed two red areas. 'Damage detected in sectors 3 & 4, possible casualties'.

Tails dashed for the lift which sent him shooting for the surface. The doors opened and cascades of icy rain streamed down his face and over his fur. The thin veil of the force field had been broken. He grit his teeth as he splashed forward through the quickly flooding streets.

The world had been shaken, that much was clear, one of the giant flashlights now lay on its side in the street, shattered glass thrown across the path and into the waterlogged grass. In the distance a group of refugees had strewn out into the street; some were panicking while others gathered around one of the houses where the roof had fallen in, frantically digging through the rubble; Tails could hear a young mobian crying as her mother tried to console her.

"What's happening?" Shouted Tails over the rain to a mobian who had rushed to meet him, "Is anybody hurt?"

"We're missing one of the children, we think they were inside. Please help!"

Tails started forward only to stop short, his ears pricking up "Help help!", the small voice was muffled by the pouring rain but seemed to be coming from somewhere around the corner. Tails raced forward heart pounding and suddenly a scene of chaos swam into view. A fault line had opened up, snaking across the ground like a dark lightning strike, it ran through the street and up to the city wall where a crumbling gash had formed.

"Help!" came the little voice again and Tails spotted a small figure lying helplessly in a deep ditch. Some of the ground had given way, collapsing to form a sinkhole with steep muddy banks, trees and debris had fallen in and underneath a heavy branch, the leg of a small mobian mongoose was trapped. Water cascaded into the ditch from all sides, sweeping in mud and debris. The little girl was crying in fear as she desperately tried to scramble up the slippery banks, water already up to her knees.

"Hang on! We're here to help you" Shouted Tails and dashed to the edge of the ditch, where chunks of ground were quickly slipping away.

"Quickly go get help!" shouted Tails to the stunned mobian standing behind him and without a second thought, jumped in, sliding down the slippery bank. Tears streamed down the little mongoose's face as she desperately reached for Tails who slipped and scrambled closer.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay" said Tails, squeezing the little girl's hand as he knelt beside her, The water now up to her waist. Doing his best not to slip, Tails grabbed the heavy branch that lay across the ditch and lifted with all his might. "It hurts!" cried the child as Tails grit his teeth and slowly the branch began to budge. With one final heave he pushed and the log rolled forward, freeing the little girl's leg. He slipped backwards and looked up at the banks which were quickly eroding. A big tree at the top was leaning perilously over the decaying edge.

"Quickly, hold on tight!" said Tails and lifting the crying girl onto his back he stumbled forwards, slipping and sliding, black mud splashing up his arms and legs. A loud thud sounded from above as the tree on the bank keeled over and hit the muddy slope, sliding quickly downwards towards them.

 _I have to get out of here now!_ Screamed Tail's brain and with all his might he spun his twin tails as hard as he could, he could feel himself rising slightly but his feet wouldn't move, stuck deep in the the thick sludge.

"Quick Tails, catch!" Knuckles' voice rang out from above and a rope landed in the mud next to him. Tails grabbed on, the sharp branches of the heavy tree were almost upon him as he felt a strong tug and stumbled back onto his feet, hauling himself upwards and out of the path of the fallen debris that bulldozed past them and hit the muddy water with a splash.

With a final tug from Knuckles, Tails clambered up the side of the ditch and stumbled forward onto his knees on the grass.

"Missy!" A tearful young mother rushed over and scooped up the shivering little mongoose who clung to Tails' neck.

"Oh, thank you thank you so much!" exclaimed the mother hugging her daughter tightly.

Tails looked up in exhaustion but managed a smile "Don't mention it" he coughed.

There was a whooshing noise and all at once the rain seemed to stop, a faint effervescent field spread outward over the city until it covered everything.

Tails breathed a sigh of relief and watched as a hazy distorted figure appeared in front of them. The distortion started to clarify until the shape of Nicole's body appeared almost solid.

"Tails! Are you alright? Shouted Nicole, rushing forward to where he lay on the ground.

"Nicole! You're okay!" Said Tails "I thought you'd been shut down".

"I was" said Nicole, wincing slightly at the thought. The earthquake seemed to sever my connection to the power rings, thankfully I had a small backup reserve and was able to repair the connection."

"What happened? Asked Knuckles, a little too loudly, his ears not yet adjusted to the sudden silence. "Why did it start raining?"

"There was an earthquake, it breached the wall" explained Nicole breathlessly, "Unfortunately I didn't design the grid with enough redundancies and as soon as the connection was severed the whole network went out. I'm so sorry, Is everyone alright?"

"Tails was doing his best to get killed but everyone else is accounted for alright."

Knuckles bent down and offered Tails a helping hand. Tails reached out and a few drops of blood dripped down his arm.

"Tails you're hurt!" gasped Nicole and dashed forward to help him.

"Don't worry Nicole, I'm fine said Tails cringing slightly as Knuckles hauled him up. It's just a little cut, I'm just really glad you're okay, I was... really worried"

Nicole blushed slightly at Tails who was wearing a look of utter relief. They stood there staring at each other for a minute. Knuckles looked on with slight confusion until suddenly an inward smirk of recognition spread across his face. "Come on guys," he laughed and grabbed Tails around the shoulders helping him to walk, "One of the roofs over here has collapsed, we should go help."


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18 - The Greater Good**

Things had suddenly gotten very busy, _WAY too busy!_ There was no time anymore. No time in the mornings. Waking up, Nicole's sensors were already triggered, the latest damage from a new wave of tremors sending flashing alerts that clamoured for her attention. No time during the day. Something to repair, someone to help, something to build. Droves of hungry refugees flooded in from all directions, desperate to escape the tempest that now raged ceaselessly outside the walls. No Time at night. mouths to feed, plans to make. No time, No time. _No time to be with him._

The streets were finally quiet and quickly getting cold as Nicole walked back to the lab. A painful longing that was now so familiar shot through her as images filled her mind. Working side-by-side, playing games and laughing, spending time with the others at freedom HQ... sitting together on the beach. They had barely spoken since that night, both working each day until they dropped, the crushing weight of responsibility dragging them down like concrete shoes. _That night, that night... had it even been real?_

Nicole stood in the darkened lab and looked across at Tails sleeping in his bed. He hadn't bothered to change his clothes, his muddy shoes still on his feet. _Tails..._ She stood in silent pain, desperately fighting the urge to wake him up and talk to him, to lay down beside him. _Does he really feel the same way? Oh what does it matter, we can't be together, you're only hurting yourself!_

Nicole took a deep breath and bit her finger, she leaned forward and gently touched the soft fur of Tails' shoulder, her heart leaping and her head feeling light. _If only you knew._

"Nicole-"

Nicole jumped slightly and spun around as the calm, low voice from behind her broke the silence of the lab. Knuckles had entered the room.

"Oh! knuckles…" Nicole stammered, suddenly filled with shocked embarrassment, I- I was just..."

"Nicole we need to talk" said Knuckles, his voice quiet and serious.

"Oh… I... okay"

"Can we use the server?"

Uneasily Nicole nodded and led Knuckles over to the VR pad. In a moment there was the usual flash of bright light and now she and Knuckles stood in the clearing outside the old Freedom Fighters HQ, the sky was dark but calm and clear and the bright moon gave the dewy grass a slight shine, the forest smelled like fresh pine cones.

The old building in the cliff that she had come to think of as home looked warm and welcoming tonight, light spilling out through its windows. The faint sound of distant laughter and eager conversation drifted up through the opened door of freedom HQ.

"It's beautiful in here Nicole" said Knuckles. "It almost feels like the real thing"

Nicole nodded and smiled softly.

"Shall we sit?" Knuckles said gently, beckoning to a stump on the edge of the clearing.

Nicole followed and together they sat. A minute passed as they drank in the stillness and silence of the night. Finally Knuckles turned and regarded her seriously.

"Nicole, I know what you're planning to do."

"Y-you do? " said Nicole suddenly startled.

"Yes, and you almost got away with it too. If it hadn't been for Tails asking me to check the power couplings running to the portal I might never have found out. "

"But - but how did you know?"

"I can sense chaos energy. The line leading from the death egg may have energy flowing through it but it's not chaos energy, it's really coming from here isn't it? The ring lake?" Knuckles crossed his arms and frowned.

"Yes", said Nicole looking down guiltily, "The chaos crystal, I couldn't get to it, the radiation was too strong and the panel was impossible to access. Tails worked for years on the portal and I let him down. I had to do something, so I made a split second decision, I lied, I told him it was connected but that's not true, It's connected to the ring lake."

Knuckles furrowed his brow, "But I don't understand Nicole. If you could just do that in the first place, why did you try to get the emerald?"

Nicole covered her eyes with her hands "The ring lake... Its power is almost infinite but it can only recharge very slowly, one ring at a time. My server has always been very expensive and even now with all of the energy needs of the city we're slowly draining the supply. The portal requires so much power to start and keep open that I won't be able to recover. I'll run out of power. I'll… Die."

Knuckles paused and frowned with concern "Does Tails know?" he asked gently.

Nicole stared at the ground ahead, biting her lip, holding back a raw pain "He…. Tails would never understand, he'd say there has to be another way. He's obsessed with saving everybody. But there isn't another way Knuckles! We're running out of time! Whatever's happening to the planet, It's accelerating. I've gone over it again and again, there's so much radiation in the Death Egg's control room that machines can never survive, I'll never be able to access those panels."

"But… but couldn't you just transfer to your handheld device? Then we could take you through the portal" protested Knuckles.

"It was destroyed with everything else by the bombs. Only one person knew how it worked, Rotor... It's impossible, I can't rebuild it." Nicole was almost in tears, she looked up pleadingly, her pained expression fixed on Knuckles' eyes, "Knuckles please, don't tell Tails. He won't understand, He won't agree to leave me behind, It'll ruin everything!"

Knuckles brow furrowed as he scanned Nicole's deadly serious face. The chirping of the crickets in the woods punctuating the silence. Finally he relented his stern interrogation and nodded.

"I understand Nicole, I won't tell him."

He held out his hand and grasped hers caringly, his steely expression breaking slightly with a look of deep sadness in his eyes "We're going to miss you Nicole, we're going to miss you very very much"

They sat for another minute in the darkness and then in a flash they were back in the lab, Tails still asleep in the corner.

"Knuckles, When you've crossed the portal, please give this to him." Said Nicole, her serious face, wavering but firm. "Don't let him have it until the portal has closed and everyone is safe."

Knuckles reached out and accepted the small note that had appeared in Nicole's hand, he nodded solemnly and began towards the lift.

Nicole stood in the darkness of the lab and stared at Tails. Her clenched hands were shaking, a throbbing pain seized her wrists, _If only there was another way..._


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19 - Finishing Touches**

Tails turned the screw on the particle beam calibrator another millimeter and the reading on his sensor peaked. The metallic smell of ionized air filled his nose and the buzzing hum of static energy fuzzed up the hair on his arm. _That's the last one_ he thought emptily, flicking off the power and sitting back in his harness he gazed wearily outwards.

The simplistic elegance of the inner city, Nicole's labour of love during their weeks apart, had given way to a sprawl of hastily repaired sheds and roughshod shelters. Cramped rows of tents along the far wall were all that they could manage for the desperate masses that had descended on the city, clamouring for a hope in the last oasis of a dying world. Above him and out over the walls flashes of distant lightning lit up the swirling stormclouds and illuminated the grey wasteland which had now become a shallow lake. Murky water pounded by relentless rain drops quickly rushed to fill the sinkholes and fault-lines that opened with the daily earthquakes.

A thronging crowd of people had gathered at the city gates as they opened, watching as a small flotilla of rafts approached the sandbag levee. Volunteers at the gates rushed forward to help as the exhausted, drenched travelers climbed over and down onto the dry streets.

Loosening his safety and fixing his screwdriver back to his belt Tails rappelled down the edge of the massive elliptical frame, landing on the ground, his legs felt weak and tired. _Ugh when was the last time I slept?_ he wondered blearily as he walked towards the gates.

As he approached, Tails caught sight of Knuckles, who gave a salute over the heads of the crowd. His soggy boots left brown marks on the path as he trudged over.

"So few this time?" glancing back at the handful of refugees as he and Knuckles began to walk through the streets towards the city center.

"The others refused to come". Said Knuckles grimly, "stubborn fools."

Tails frowned and shook his head solemnly.

"How about the portal?" said Knuckles "Give me some good news"

"It's finished." said Tails, "All the tests seem successful, I asked Nicole to organise everyone for tomorrow, I don't know how long this place is going to hold up, a few more bad earthquakes and even the nanites might not be able to help us."

"That's a relief alright." said Knuckles with a nod, rubbing his creased forehead. He motioned towards a large shed on the side of the path "Here's the place I told you about". Outside people sat around on makeshift chairs, with drinks in hand they warmed themselves against three big barrel fires. Knuckles crossed the threshold and guided Tails inside the hut where two men behind a bar were doing their best to serve a noisy rabble of mobians.

"You've got to hand it to them, these refugees are pretty resourceful, said Knuckles, picking up two tall drinks and sitting with Tails at a small table in the corner. "Careful though, this stuff's pretty rough"

Tails coughed as he took a sip "Geez, you can say that again! They made this from Nicole's hydroponics? It tastes more like airplane fuel!"

"Like a glass of angry nanites." Laughed Knuckles, "Remind me never to get on her bad side by the way."

"Don't mention panels" said Tails with an inward smile.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow "So the portal, are you sure it will work?" he asked.

"I hope so..." said Tails looking away in deep thought "I built a small prototype about a year ago. It only lasted a second but what I saw was amazing. Blue skies, green fields. I wanted to try to reach through but it was so power hungry it overloaded my generator in seconds and the whole island was out of power for days.

"Blue skies, huh? I remember those" said Knuckles with a smile, "Back up on Angel Island the skies were always blue... We used to watch the sunset almost every day. Just me and Julie Sue..." Knuckles trailed off.

"I'm sorry" said Tails solemnly.

Knuckles grunted dismissively and shook his head, staring at his glass intently.

A few minutes passed as the two friends sat drinking and watching the refugees who laughed and talked and sang songs in the dim light of the crowded bar. Finally knuckles spoke.

"I saw her the other day you know... Through the window... In Nicole's virtual world... She was beautiful, perfect, just like I remembered. I wanted to talk to her. I've never wanted anything so much in my entire life, but I couldn't do it... It isn't the same person, I couldn't... I couldn't."

Knuckles stared emptily into nothingness, two small tears betraying his unflinching face. "Tails do you know what love feels like?"

Tails looked up slightly shocked. "I…. uh… I guess maybe" he said, choking slightly on his drink.

Knuckles looked him in the eyes seriously. "I would trade the rest of my life to spend just one more day, just one more hour with Julie Su. When you feel that way about someone nothing else really matters. To some that would seem crazy, but I have a feeling you're not one of them, so I'll ask you again. Do you know what love feels like?"

Tails glanced down uncomfortably, deep in thought.

"Yes" he said, looking up, almost surprised by the revelation of his own words. "I… think I do"

Knuckles studied his young friend reading his face carefully, finally he grunted, frowned and nodded, more to himself than to Tails, then sat in thought as they finished their drinks in silence.

Tails stared at the faint reflection of himself in his glass. _I have to tell her… I have to tell her tomorrow._


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20 - Goodbye**

"Everybody please join the group along the main street and keep spreading out in the direction of the city gardens" Nicole's amplified voice echoed out over the city as the masses of refugees shuffled through the streets carrying bags filled with clothing and food. The anxious mobians at the front crowded around the raised stage where the portal stood, looming high over the square.

Tails stood with Knuckles and Nicole and a few other volunteers on the stage; for the seventh time, he checked and rechecked the wiring in his circuit, finally satisfied he nodded at Knuckles and flicked a switch. At first it seemed like nothing was happening, Tails held his breath, but then slowly, a barely audible high pitched hum started to fill the air and in the centre of the elliptical frame, suspended in open space, a dim light started to appear. The humming noise multiplied quickly as the light pulsed in intensity getting bigger and bigger. Nearby streetlights began to flicker as the air filled with a static energy that swept over the crowd, now silent except for the hushed cries of babies.

Tails took a deep breath and crossed his fingers, moving his hand over to a second switch.

In an instant there was a loud booming, crackling noise and a bright flash of purple light as the small glowing orb flared outwards kissing the metallic sides of the frame with licking yellow tendrils of electricity. Tails watched as the purple glare started to fade and there, in the centre, behind dancing arcs of current, a blurry image began to appear, blue and green, sky and ground, a serene meadow on a bright day.

The hushed crowd began to whisper excitedly as Tails took a step forward, chest pounding, he reached out towards the glowing entrance. The barrier was hot and it smelled of ionised gas, through it he could see movement, a soft wind was blowing distant trees. Tails glanced back at Nicole and Knuckles who were looking on worriedly; he did his best to smile. _Alright here goes nothing._ Clenching his fists the young fox closed his eyes and stepped forward.

There was a prickly sensation, an instant of burning heat and then suddenly he emerged into the brightness of a beautiful warm day, a gentle hillside with grassy green slopes that rolled down towards distant trees and water. Behind him the massive portal gave off vibrating hum as it hung suspended in free space, through its blurry window he could see the streets of Mobotropolis and the sea of watching mobians lit up by giant solar lights. The sky behind them was dark and grey.

A small smile spread over Tail's exhausted face, _It works, It actually works!_

A massive cheer went up as Tails stepped back out of the portal, holding a single blade of grass. He nodded at Knuckles whose smile was wide but somehow reserved.

"There's a forest and a lake a few kilometers from the portal, looks like a good place to set up a temporary campsite." said Tails, stepping up to the loudspeaker. "In a moment Knuckles will lead our first volunteers through the portal. Please be patient and we will all get through quickly and safely."

Another cheer went up from the crowd and the excited murmuring returned as Tails turned back to to his friends. His face shone with happiness as he looked at Nicole and grinned.

"You're a hero Tails" Said Nicole, her sad eyes met his and lingered as she tried to smile. "Sonic would be proud"

 _Do it do it now!_ the voice in Tail's head screamed. Tails glanced at Knuckles who nodded sternly.

Adrenaline seethed through him as he stepped forwards and took Nicole's hand in his, holding it up slightly.

"Nicole, I… I need to tell you something… I promised myself if this worked I'd tell you how I feel..." he managed, struggling to hold contact with Nicole's green eyes.

The lynx looked down at her hand and then back up in shock. Her eyes wide, her face suddenly red.

"Nicole when I'm with you I feel so happy, everything we do, even all the bad stuff, It just feels so right. It's like we have this incredible connection. I'm not really sure how to say this…"

Tails paused and gripped her hand tighter "Nicole I really like you… I think I love-"

"No! Tails don't!" said Nicole sharply, almost angrily, jolting her hand away and staring fixedly at the ground.

Tails recoiled as if being hit in the face, an icy cold shard of ice piercing his chest.

"Nicole I... I"

"Tails I can't… I-I don't feel the same" she said, her curt tone trembling slightly. Tails stepped back, his mind blank and dazed, all the warmth draining from his body. Nicole turned quickly, avoiding Tail's pleading eyes, and walked to the loudspeaker.

"Everybody please stand in pairs and form a line in front of the portal. Tails will lead you through, Knuckles will be organising our volunteers taking extra supplies and I will be here if you need any help. Please make sure you have your tents and your two weeks of rations. When you reach the other side, head towards the lake and keep moving so that everyone can get through. Most of all, make sure all of your friends and family are accounted for -" Nicole's voice was hoarse and choked up, her fist clenched tightly as she stared out over the crowd. "We- we don't want to leave anyone behind"

As the first wave of refugees stepped up onto the stage and formed a line Tails stared blankly past their heads at the back of Nicole who stood frozen with her head bowed. A few long painful seconds passed before wordlessly she stepped down off the stage and made her way through the mulling crowd, never turning to see Tail's shattered face.

The setting sun warmed the sweet smelling air and sent rays of orange light dancing on the sparkling blue lake. Tails sat at the top of the hill and watched as the long line of refugees that had streamed through the portal now trickled to a halt, they laughed and cheered as their faces lit up, years of hardship blowing away in the light summer breeze. In the distance a small encampment was already forming with a bonfire and rows of tents, small children danced and played in the soft grass. Tails looked at the happy smiling faces and felt nothing. He was empty. The world was grey.

"Tails!" came the shout from down the hill and in the dimming light Tails could see a red echidna making his way across from the portal towards him. He sat and watched blankly as Knuckles approached.

"We made it huh?" said the yellow fox emptily, without looking up. "Is everyone across now? All the supplies, Nicole?"

Knuckles said nothing, wordlessly sitting beside his friend and joined his gaze out to the horizon.

"I guess I'll be needed down there right? They'll want me to make a speech or something?"

Knuckles half smiled but still said nothing, he seemed oddly quiet. They sat in silence as the minutes passed, watching the setting sun.

Suddenly Tails felt something in his hand. "What's this?" he said looking down at a small folded piece of paper that rested in his palm. He turned to Knuckles whose usually stoic face was painted with sadness, eyes close to tears.

"Apologize to Nicole for me", said Knuckles looking Tails in the eye. "I'm going to miss you buddy", he added, a small tear falling down his cheek. Then, with one pat on Tail's shoulder, he got up and saluted sadly before turning to walk down the hill.

"Knuckles wha… what is this? Nicole? Is she okay!"

Tails eyes were wide as he watched his friend walk away. His hands were sweating and began to tremble as he shakily fumbled the loose paper open revealing a neatly written note. _Nicole's handwriting..._ He felt lightheaded as he strained in the dimming light to concentrate on the words in front of him.'

 _Dearest Miles,_

 _I'm so sorry, I lied to you. I failed, I couldn't reach the emerald. By the time Knuckles gives you this message, the energy in the ring lake will have depleted and the portal will have closed. The handheld server that would have let me cross through the portal was impossible to rebuild. Perhaps it's for the best, without nanites to control I'm weak and a waste of energy, I'd no longer be of use to you or the refugees, I would have become a burden. I hope that one day you will forgive me for deceiving you, It was the only way; I knew you would never leave if you had to leave someone behind. My only regret is that I was too much of a coward to tell you how I feel about you. You are the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last when I go to sleep at night. Everytime I'm with you I feel like everything in the world is perfect just as it is. Because of you I know what true happiness feels like. Goodbye Miles, I love you._

 _Yours Forever, Nicole_

 _P.S. Tell Knuckles 'Thank you' and please don't blame him, I forced him to do this for me._

Time stood still. Tails hands shook as he sat frozen, staring at the note, with each word his heartbeat speeding up till he felt almost high.

"Nicole!"

In a flash he was on his feet, running, sprinting, the world became a blur as the portal, hovering silently in the air, faintly illuminating the hillside, grew closer. Blood pulsing, wind whistled past Tails slicked-back ears as he bolted forwards like sonic on a mission. Faster, faster, Tails leapt forward and, out of the corner of his eye, caught one final glimpse of the setting sun.


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21 - No Way Out**

"Nicole!"

Breathless, Tails stumbled out onto the empty platform, the baking warmth of the portal clinging briefly to his fur as he looked back and forth, frantically searching his surroundings. The streets were desolate, empty, cold. The massive sun lights that had burned so brightly just hours before were now weak, no match for the lightning that forked through the clouds and sent flickering shadows of abandoned buildings down the dim lonely streets.

Tails called again, his voice barely audible over the howling gale above.

The slight squeal of the feedback sounded from the speaker beside him and Tails jumped over, grabbing the microphone he shouted as loudly as he could.

"Nicole where are you? I'm here to help! Nicole!"

There was silence and then suddenly the lights flickered as Nicole's panicked voice echoed out of the speakers.

"Tails NO! You have to go back! there's no way to help me! You have to go back now!" she shouted in a panic.

"Nicole where are you?" shouted Tails desperately, "Please I need to find you. I have to talk to you!"

Nicole was sobbing now, "Tails… the portal is too strong! It's drawing energy directly from the ring lake now, you can't shut it down! It's almost out of power, Please! you have to go escape before -"

There was a deafening crash as a bolt of lightning hit the force-field and instantly the air was filled with the roar of rain, crashing to the ground all at once like a great wave. Another bang and another rang out as the falling sheet of water shorted out two of the huge sun-lamps, plunging the far side of the city into a hazy darkness. Tails yelled into the microphone at the top of his lungs but nothing came out, the speakers were dead.

 _There has to be a way to stop this! There has get to be a way to get her through!_

Tails turned back to look at the towering metal structure, its purple glow glinting through a wall of falling raindrops now seemed ominous, almost menacing. Spotting his toolbox he rushed over and threw it open, digging through as it quickly filled with water. Shielding his eyes against the icy drops Tails pulled a cover off the base of the portal frame and stared at the tangle of circuitry beneath.

 _I can't shut it down... but what If I could reverse the polarity of the resonator coils? Then I could retune the flux amplifier and... yes! the portal might shrink, Nicole could recharge, we could work out a way to get her out!_

Tails started undoing the screws on the first circuit board, the water running down his arms, mixing with the cold sweat as he fought off a growing panic. He bit his lip, cursing and fumbling with the confusing mass of slippery wires. He squinted and blinked, straining to see inside the metal housing; a shot of panic raced down his arms, it wasn't his eyes, the giant street lights were getting dimmer.

 _Oh god Nicole please hang in there! Please! I can do this I just need more time! I just need to-_

There was another blast of lighting and Tails snapped backwards, falling to the floor as an arc of electricity snaked down the metal frame and singed a forking tree of burn marks into the stage. The acrid smell of burnt wood and fur filled the his lungs as he stared dazedly upward from his back. Images shot through in his mind, Sonic, fireworks, a tangle of wires. Groaning, the fox rolled onto one side and shakily sat up. In front of him the portal's circuit box remained open, beckoning, Tails looked at the screwdriver still in his hand.

 _No... not this time._

Pools of deepening water splashed around Tail's ankles as he dashed through the soggy grass towards the hangar; its heavy iron door grumbled stubbornly as he pushed it open with all his might. Howling wind swept in, rattling the walls and wobbling the wings of the shiny blue plane that waited patiently in the darkness. Flicking on the power Tails turned the key and the propeller roared into life, sweeping boxes off the shelves behind him with a blast of furious air. Pulling his goggles over his eyes, the young fox thrust the throttle forward and drove out into the wind, almost flipping sidewards as a massive crosswind picked up the right side of the plane. Wrestling back control, Tails pushed forwards into the hail of water, watching his instruments as he climbed blindly upwards, narrowly missing the rooftop of a nearby house.

 _Hold on Nicole!_ Thick rain seeped through the windscreen as the wind juggled the plane back and forth. _hold on..._ White knuckled Tails set the throttle to full and turned back towards the city, the island of light sinking fast into an endless sea of black.

 _Ten, nine.._

There was a sudden jolt and a blast of blue light sending alarms blaring in Tail's ears. The right wing was on fire but Tails stared straight ahead.

 _Five, four,_

Tails unbuckled his harness and threw the straps aside. The massive frame of the portal loomed before him, cutting into the darkness with its the menacing purple glow.

 _Two…_

A savage blast of air swept through Tail's hair as the hatch flew open.

 _One!_

For a moment the burning plane seemed to hang in mid air, almost serenely floating in space, then it dropped, ploughing headlong into the portal and erupting in a massive ball of flames. The metal lattice crumpled like cardboard, a cacophony of grinding metal crashed loudly to the ground in a hail of sparks.

Tails parachuted down with his spinning tails, hitting the ground with a heavy thud and spilling sideways into the muddy grass. He winced and opened his eyes, a hundred meters away, the fallen portal lay twisted and dead, flickering flames from the wreckage already spreading across the roof of a crushed building.

Tails coughed the water out of his nose and struggled upwards ignoring the familiar throbbing pain that had returned to his leg. In the distance, the dying glow of one of the few remaining street lights lit up a wooden platform near an unassuming blackened stump. Turning against the roaring wind and cascading rain the yellow fox stared grimly, dead ahead, he took one step and then another, limping slowly through the dark grey coldness towards the lab.


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22 - Fireworks**

The familiar white light enveloped Tails, fading away to leave him standing painlessly in the white sand. Gentle waves lapped at the shores of paradise, lit up in the soft moonlight on a warm, clear summer night.

The lagoon at the end of the beach grew closer as Tails jogged quickly along the shore. He could now hear the sound of the waterfall cascading down from above, he looked out to the rocks that jutted over the water but there were no long black ears to be seen.

 _Nicole, where are you?_ Thought tails, his heart racing as he scanned the rocks that surrounded the pool.

Soft sobbing, barely audible over the cascading falls, caught Tail's ear and he crossed the small bridge to where the overhanging cliffs formed a slight cave that extended back behind the waterfall. There, huddled in the corner was a lonely figure, shoulders hunched and head down, face shrouded by shadow.

"Nicole!"

Tails hurried to the young lynx and knelt down in front of her, his heart hammered as he gazed at her with deep concern. She sat in a crumpled ball, her knees drawn up to her chest and locked in place by a curled up arm. Her other arm covered her head as she tried to hide her face behind her legs. Nicole's long black hair fell in messy bangs over her face, clinging to her cheeks, wet from a stream of tears that fell from her tightly shut eyes. She seemed to shiver, shaking in anguish and wracked by guilt.

"Nicole it's okay, it's all over. The portal is closed. We're safe"

"Tails I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I'm so sorry!" sobbed the distraught Lynx in deep quivering breaths, drawing back further, tighter into a ball and shielding her head with her arms.

His blood pulsed with adrenaline and his heart threatened to leap from his chest, but a strange sense of calmness and clarity had filled Tails' mind. The feeling came from deep down in the center of his stomach, It overcame all else and seemed to act through him, bypassing the voices of his conscious mind. Time seemed to slow, focusing him deeply until all that remained was a powerful magnetic force.

Nicole froze as she felt the warm gentle touch of Tail's hand covering the back of her own. She remained still, softly sobbing as his light touch lingered for a for a few seconds, warming her cold skin. Tails moved closer, curling his fingers up underneath hers and gently lifting her hand away from her face. Nicole offered no resistance, her arm that had been clenched so tightly now seemed almost weightless, freed from the shackles of her self-imposed bondage.

Tails held Nicole's hand out in front of her and stared at her face, those big green eyes, shut tight behind tears, a rush of powerful longing swept through him. Tenderly he pressed his lips against the back of her hand then looked up, mesmerised by the beauty before him. Nicole opened her eyes and stared at the ground. Tails squeezed gently as he felt both of their pulses quicken.

Drawing closer and onto his knee, the young fox leaned forward and touched Nicole's right cheek. She trembled slightly, frozen in nervousness and guilt, resisting slightly as Tails gently turned her face towards him. He stroked her forehead softly, caressing the hair from her brow. Nicole relented, her watery eyes reflecting the moonlight met Tails' and suddenly fiery sparks seemed to shoot through the air. They both froze, eyes locked together, as a wave of drug-like yearning washed over them, and everything else seemed to fade away.

"Tails I'm sor-" Nicole started but stopped as he squeezed her hand and shook his head gently. He moved his head closer, leaning in sidewards, Nicole moved to meet him and suddenly their lips were touching, pressed together face to face. A rush of desperate desire shot through them, Tails passionately curled his arms behind Nicole's back and head, drawing her closer and pulling her body against his, she melted against him grabbing his back and holding him Tightly. They kissed again, passionately, deeply, moving their mouths together with their eyes closed, blocking all other senses, savouring the perfection of the moment.

Tails drew back, stroking Nicole's hair, and staring into her eyes. He dropped to the floor next to her and pulled her closer, swinging her legs across his lap so that her body was against him. Nicole curled her arms around his neck and they clung to each other tightly, kissing again with a new sense of urgency, deeper and more intensely than ever before. They stayed for what seemed like an eternity, hungrily exploring their new favourite thing, sometimes breaking for a moment to stare deeply into each other's eyes only to succumb again to the magnetic trance that pulsed maddeningly whenever they separated. In their throes neither looked up, but if they had not much would be seen, the Simulation itself had began to blur, melting into the warm beige colour of Nicole's emotions.

Tails and Nicole lay next to each other, eyes locked together, feet touching and arms intertwined. The low drone of the waterfall and the distant crash of waves the only sounds beside their breathing.

"Tails… I love you" Nicole said squeezing his hand.

"I love you too." whispered back Tails.

Tails caressed Nicole's cheek and gazed deeply into her eyes, she stared back at him with a soft, blissful smile.

Suddenly Nicole looked very serious "Just so we're clear though, I love you more." she said bluntly.

Tails was taken aback for a second and then burst into a grin "Uh, no, I think you'll find I love YOU the most" He declared boastfully and pretended to frown.

"Do Not."

"Do To."

"Do Not!"

"Do To!"

Giggling, Nicole pounced on Tails, kissing him on the neck and growling at him. They fell to the ground laughing and playing, heads spinning, hearts racing, locked again in another fiery embrace. Their passion burned for what seemed like hours until finally they lay together in each other's arms. An infinite sense of contentment washed over Tails as he watched the girl next to him gently drift to sleep. Warm from her touch he stared up at the cloudless night sky full of sparkling stars.

Time seemed to linger on forever, Just him, Nicole and the endless space above him. His eyelids were growing heavy when he noticed that the sky was changing, dreamily he watched the distant twinkling grow brighter and start to change colour. The faint sound of music and chattering voices grew, louder and louder. It was becoming distracting now, swirling around him in confusing waves, Tails looked around but could see no people. Suddenly an intense burst of colour lit up the sky and the air around him was full of exploding fireworks that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere exploding louder and louder, closer and closer until Tails couldn't see or hear anything else. _What's going on?!_ He covered his ears and closed his eyes as the cacophony overwhelmed him.

"Tails…" Nicole breathed, and instantly everything stopped, weakly she opened her eyes, her face was peaceful, she smiled as if she were remembering something very happy.

"Nicole! What is it? What's happening? Are you okay?" said Tails, suddenly very worried, he turned to her and cradled her face, staring at her intently.

Nicole nodded and smiled gently, gazing up at her love. "Tails, do you remember the night you arrived? When we met in the server." Nicole's voice was weak but calm, almost ephemeral.

"Y-yes, said Tails, his eyes darting with deep concern around Nicole's serene face. "It was a party I-in a garden, the Castle Acorn! You said it was a recreation of a dream you'd had. Why Nicole? Is there something wrong?"

"This world…" said Nicole, her voice very soft.

"Wh-what do you mean?" replied Tails with deep concern.

Nicole grasped Tail's hand, "It was you I was waiting for Tails." She whispered, closing her eyes, "come and meet me there… please".

"Nicole… I don't understand I don't-"

Nicole squeezed his hand and smiled softly then slowly her hand went limp. Her body lay still and quiet.

"Nicole..." Tails' lips trembled as he stared at the young lynx's still body, he drew close hugging her tightly. "No!" He whispered pleadingly, hot tears welling up in his eyes, an immense heavy pressure building in his head and his chest. Lying frozen in disbelief, winded and drowning in pain Tails clung to his precious love with all his might as she, and the virtual world around them, slowly started to fade.


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23 - The End**

Tails spluttered awake, his eyes were open but there was no light. He was shivering, a pool of icy water lapped at his sides and soaked through to his skin. To his right, the sound of objects, clanging off shelves and landing on the wet floor, to his left, the rushing sound of water cascading downwards. Tails sat up and struggled to his feet, the water was rising quickly, very quickly.

Stumbling upwards, trying to stand up as the ground shook around him, Tails splashed blindly forwards. _The elevator - no, no power! - the slide!_ He turned to face the sound of rushing water almost tripping over a fallen shelf. Clambering forwards he continued on with his arms outstretched, the water up to his knees, he staggered towards the wall. The fierce torrent tugged at his legs as his hands slid over the cold metal of the slide. Something rough brushed his shins, whipping about in the cold dark water, he reached down and grabbed it tightly, the rope, his only way out.

Taking a deep breath, Tails plunged in headfirst, the icy cascade crashing down all around him. Eyes closed tightly he climbed with all his strength, spluttering and coughing, upwards against the rushing water. Legs slipping, arms fighting, gasping for breath.

Strobes of lightning danced through the sky flashing glimpses of an endless black nightmare. Tails clung to the inside of the stump, shivering and shellshocked, looking out over the ocean that had once been a city. Broken trees and remains of crumbling houses bobbed up and down, sucked by an invisible undercurrent towards a great gash in the ground. The fault line had grown, tearing the walls apart like tissue, splitting the earth in two. Waves of needle-like rain whipped at Tails' face as murky water rushed over his feet and down into the lab. The reverberating sound of air rushing back up the pipe made him feel sick as he thought of the sinking space below him, buried under the black gloom, his sanctuary, his home, Nicole. _Nicole, Oh god no! Nicole..._ Tails felt weak. The world shook again as he held on to the old stump staring bleakly outwards, tears of despair clouding his eyes.

A glimpse of light caught Tails' eyes, the faintest glow, off in the distance. Tails strained through the darkness and the rain.

 _A... streetlight! But why? Nicole! She was trying to tell me something!_

Picturing her face, Tails began to spin his twin tails as fast as he could, faster and faster and finally he was lifting into the air. Fighting against the battering wind, he struggled forwards towards the dim light, struggling with all his might to fight upwards, away from the black eddies swirling below him. A massive gust cast him sideways and suddenly he was out over the crevasse, huge cascading waterfalls on each side swept the battered remains of the world down into the endless depths of the earth.

 _The light! Towards the light!_ Heart pounding, gasping for air, burning with fatigue, Tails used his last ounce of strength to drive upwards, his final momentum barely carrying him over a wall and careening heavily into the wet black mud.

Straining to regain his breath, Tails winced and opened his eyes, the great dark metal fortress of the Death Egg rose above him, protected by Nicole's inner wall, the only island left in the sea of black.

As he lay there, staring up into the rain, Tails mind was suddenly filled with memories of his dreams… fireworks, the Death Egg, the purple glow of the chaos emerald _Wait... Purple? But this emerald is green! Unless..._

Tails crawled forwards through the thick mud, the hatch, the one Nicole had entered just weeks ago was still open, a long cable extended out through the gap. Water cascading over the walls now lapped at his feet as he stuck his arms and then his head inside the narrow tube, squirming and dragging himself he squeezed up the claustrophobic pipe, finally grateful for the slippery mud that now covered most of his body. The pipe ended in the darkness, the chord trailing upwards to his right, a hallway, tilted at a steep angle. Tails shuffled upwards breathlessly in the black, the cable his only guide, he clung tightly as the slide back down into the depths grew further.

Hauling himself through the elevator shaft at the top of the hallway, Tails stopped, his head was spinning, he threw up on the ground as a painful sick feeling assaulted his stomach. Crawling his way down the sideways elevator shaft, he followed the cable further, pausing only to hold on tight as the world shook and sent an ominous metallic groan shuddering through the structure. Up ahead Tails could see something, the faintest glow spilled through a gap in the floor and lit up the back of the shaft, as he got closer, the glow seemed stronger, almost as if it were calling him forwards.

Tails collapsed at the edge of the gap, pulling himself forward, he braced against another shockwave then peered over the edge and down into the massive room below him. Though the light of the chaos emerald was dim, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his eyes as if looking at the sun, his face felt hot and his head was spinning.

Hands and legs gripping the cable as tight as he could, Tails rolled forwards and out into the openness, there was a sudden jolt as the wire caught his weight and then his muddy hands were slipping downwards, faster and faster, white knuckled he raced towards the end of the chord. In the middle of the room the control panels jutted out like a platform but the chord wasn't above it, he was sliding into nothingness. _I'm not going to make it!_ Baring his teeth he spun his tails and thrust forwards, slipping and swinging and landing with a heavy thud on the panels. He stared at the ground, winded and struggling to breathe, his skin was burning like the worst sunburn ever, he looked down to see a red rash forming on the backs of his arms.

Fighting to stay conscious, Tails wheezed and rolled onto his stomach, dragging himself towards a panel on the wall with a strange inscription. There was scratch marks on the metal, some of the screws appeared to be loose.

 _Nicole, she was so close!_

A panicked minute ticked by as Tails dug at the screws with his fingernails until all but two were loose. He pulled at the panel with all his might trying to lift it free. Nothing. He could feel his strength waning, a throbbing, pounding pain in his head was growing with each second and now he could see his skin was bright red, dry and starting to peel.

 _I can't get in without a screwdriver!_ Thought Tails frantically, grabbing wishfully again at his empty toolbelt. _This can't be it, it can't be! If only Nicole were here._

Suddenly there was a massive groaning rumble and the room lurched sideways. Tails slipped, reaching for something, anything, the lever of a joystick dug into his ribs and he grabbed at it clumsily, barely managing to hold on. The sound of grinding metal filled the air as the Death Egg slowly started to move.

 _The fault! we're getting dragged towards the fault! Oh god no this is it!_

Something brushed Tails' ear and he grabbed at it in the darkness. A small silvery charm, nothing more than a little metal rectangle hanging from a chain around his neck. Tails closed his eyes and held the charm tightly, his arm beginning to tire as he fought to hold on with all of his strength.

 _Nicole. In the workshop that night… It was you wasn't it? You were my lucky charm. My… lucky charm!_

Tails opened his eyes, they burned like fire but he could still just see the panel in-front of him. Holding the pendant between his fingers he reached forward and slid one edge into the top of the first screw, fumbling, straining to hold on, he managed to turn it loose.

There was another sudden jolt and the room was moving again, Tails slammed back into the side of the control panel as the Death Egg let out a horrendous groan, sliding, tipping, dragged by the churning landslide that now cascaded down into the bottomless gash, it's insatiable maw opening wider and wider swallowing up everything, the world tearing itself apart. The second screw fell free, drifting with the metal panel down into the darkness below. Tails could no longer hear, he could barely see, he lurched forwards, his arms burned, his skin burned. He slid forward and grabbed at the wires, pulling randomly, blindly at circuit boards. The room was tipping now, falling. The empty abyss licked its lips. A memory, a word, 'Genesis'. With his last ounce of strength Tails lunged and seized the marked circuit board. He was falling backwards, the death egg was falling. The world was ending.

The blast was instant.  
The light as bright as a thousand suns.


	24. Chapter 24

**PART 4 - Second Chances**

 **CHAPTER 24 - Awakening**

A warm white light enveloped everything, creating a void, a place devoid of time and dimension where the only thing that seemed to exist was Tails and his body, no shadows, no sound, only light. As the blood pounding in Tail's ears dissipated, a strange calm came over him and his mind began to clear, like gently rising from a deep relaxing sleep. Tails noticed the pressure on his feet, the ground now beneath him pushing back, cool air caressing his fur. Slowly, like a camera coming into focus, the world began to form around him, spreading outwards, details crystallizing out of a hazy fog.

The low hum of machinery, the cold grey of metal, the purple light of a glowing chaos emerald, the raspy lick of… "T-pup!" Tails looked down at his robotic companion who stood at his feet licking his leg. He blinked and looked around him, he went to stand up, bracing for a jolt of pain only to feel a slight stiffness as though he had been crouching for a few hours.

"Hey boy, I guess I made It back huh?" said Tails, bending down to pat the body of a frantically wagging tail. His arms, the burning pain he had felt just moments before had vanished, no burns, no scars, no mud, his fur soft and clean. He walked to a darkened computer monitor and stared at the faint reflection of his face, _I'm... younger!_

"It worked!" exclaimed Tails, thrusting his fist into the air and inspiring a few excited leaps from T-pup.

Tails looked around the room, the Death Egg, complete with its convenient gash of a door was just as he remembered. _What time is it?_ Outside the stars and the moon shone brightly in a clear night sky and the distant lights of New Mobotropolis filtered up from below. The black ocean was gone and in its place specs of light shone from farms and roads that wound across the green, lush countryside. Hastily he rummaged in his tool bag, pulling out his hand-held computer and flicking on the screen. _9:06 pm? But... that can't be… the genesis shift happened after the fireworks at 11... Have I gone back in time?_ He stood for a minute in awed silence, double and triple checking the clock then glanced around the room, eyes resting on the control panel. The circuit board, all of the wires, they were still intact, no sign of the angry mistake he was yet to make. The Chaos emerald remained sealed in it's impenetrable vault.

 _I was so fixated on that damn emerald I completely missed the party!_ The young fox looked from the emerald out towards the horizon and nodded resolutely, he grabbed his bags and hauled them outside into the cool night air. "C'mon T-pup, let's do it right this time!"

The Tornado sat quietly at the end of the moonlit meadow, its red metal frame gleaming faintly in the soft light. Making his way through the high flowers Tails climbed up into the cockpit. He started the engine, looking down at the dashboard, "fuel good, engine good, cargo sealed, ammunition secure..."

A thought struck Tails and he spun around to look at the small bunch of missiles that hung from the bottom of the wing. A smile crept across his face as he switched off the engine and pulled out his toolbox. _Hmmm, maybe there's time for just one more surprise._


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25 - Star-Crossed Love**

A young lynx wearing a gold ballroom dress sat on the edge of a white tablecloth, struggling to hold onto the vague visions that faded in and out of her mind. It had been two hours since Nicole had fallen on her way across the courtyard, overcome by visions, hallucinations?... _what were they?_ A storm, a city... a portal. They seemed so real and yet so distant, like reflections of a dream and the harder she tried to catch them, the faster they seemed to run.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sally, dressed in blue leaned against the table and inspected her friend with concern. "I don't really feel comfortable leaving you on your own Nicole, computers can get viruses too you know?"

"I'm fine Sally, really, thank you. I just need to think for a bit." Said Nicole appreciatively. She pointed at Sonic who was waiting near the dancefloor. "Please Sally, go have fun, I'll come join you later."

"Alright but you'd better still be alive when I get back."

"Okay okay" laughed Nicole as her friend reluctantly backed away and turned to the group.

Nicole sighed as she sat in the dim corner of the garden and watched Sonic and Sally dance together to the slow music. Knuckles was there too - to everyone's surprise he'd had a change of heart and turned up unexpectedly, now he and Julie Su lovingly embraced as they moved across the floor. Another deep sigh, Nicole watched all the happy couples, the look of love in their eyes. The empty feeling that had been growing inside her all evening sat heavily in her stomach and drained the smile from her face.

"Ahem"

Nicole jumped slightly in surprise and turned to see a young fox standing next to her, his hair was combed and he wore a navy suit with a bow tie. In his hands was a small bouquet of mountain flowers.

"Hi Nicole" said Tails. He smiled shyly and looked deeply into her eyes "You look beautiful tonight".

"Tails! you-I… th-thank you" Nicole's heart leapt, and her face was red "I-we weren't sure if you were going to make it." she said trying to calm her racing nerves.

"I don't think I did" said Tails with an enigmatic smirk, "but I did this time" he added and handed her the flowers, joining her on the end of the table.

Nicole's heart raced as she glanced at the sweet smelling bouquet then back up at Tails. There was something about the way that he was looking at her, like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Tails, earlier tonight I had these visions" she said uneasily "They were was so strange, so tangible, it was almost like they were-"

There was a great bang as the sky exploded into a rainbow of arcing flares. Streaking pinwheels of fire that filled the night with colour and sound. Nicole felt Tails' hand grasp hers as they sat side-by-side staring up at the dazzling display. Her emptiness was gone, washed away by a growing wave of euphoria, her heart was racing but she felt strangely calm, almost as if she had done this before.

The show lasted ten minutes as the display grew and grew, building up into a final crescendo. The crowd held its breath as one last rocket launched high up into the sky, exploding with a loud pop. Exploding into… nothing. No light no colour… just nothing.

Nicole felt Tails squeeze her hand and she turned to see his eyes shining with excitement.

"Nicole do you remember the coloured stars that you wanted to make for the party?" he asked.

"Y-yes of course Tails, but I didn't do it tonight, I couldn't work out how. Why?… what do you mean?"

Tails pointed upwards and nodded and suddenly Nicole understood. She concentrated for a moment and then opened her eyes. Gasps sounded out from the crowd as a thousand tiny stars shining brightly in blue, white and gold appeared, floating in mid air high above above the party.

Tails beamed at Nicole as the garden broke out into rapturous applause.

"Nanites in the fireworks..." said Nicole breathlessly, staring up in awe, "but how did you manage to get them to stay up there?"

"Oh, I just retuned the force-field", said Tails nonchalantly.

"Re-tuned the... b-but that's brilliant!" gasped Nicole "how did you ever come up with that?"

Tails grinned, "Let's just say I had some help from my lucky charm", he said playfully and looked pointedly at her.

Nicole suddenly felt slightly dizzy again, "Tails, th-those dreams, those hallucinations, you had them too didn't you? Did they really happen?!"

Tails concentrated and thought hard "It's so weird, If you'd asked me an hour ago I would have said yes but now… I don't know, It's like I just can't remember" he turned to her with a serious look, deep intensity in his eyes. "All I'm sure about is that I'm here now, with you, and there's nothing more import to me in the whole world."

"Tails you made it!" Nicole and Tails jumped and turned to see Sonic and Sally standing in front of them looking down at their interlocked hands. "Are we interrupting something?" chuckled Sonic with a sly smile and a raised eyebrow. Sally elbowed him in the in the ribs and winked at Nicole. "I'm so glad you decided to come Tails!".

"I- uh I couldn't get the emerald" said Tails with a frown as the four friends walked across the grass towards the castle's raised marble court.

"Tails, don't worry! We're just so happy to have you here" said Sally "aren't we Nicole?" she added winking at her blushing friend.

"Anyways we got it covered bud!" said Sonic with a friendly nudge, picking up a box wrapped with gold ribbon and showing it to Tails as the small group crossed the patio to where the king sat with his family.

"Tails so good to see you could make it!" said King max "To see all the freedom fighters back together again, what a birthday treat!"

"Dad this is from all of us" said Sally, handing the king the box.

"But… but this is brilliant!" bellowed the king with laughter, holding up a dressing gown and new fuzzy slippers. "I've always wanted a set like this but I've never been brave enough to buy one!" Max looked around at the chuckling teenagers "It's those blasted cold bathroom tiles, trust me when you turn 50 you'll understand!"

"It was Tails' idea dad" said Sally and smiled at Tails, surprising the guilty look off the fox's face.

"Why thank you, my boy!" said the king sincerely, "I couldn't have asked for a better gift".

Sally and Sonic waved from the castle steps as Nicole and Tails followed the last handfuls of party goers flowing through the white garden arch out onto the cobble streets.

The moon was bright and high, highlighting the meandering clouds and a crisp autumn breeze scattered brown leaves across the footpath. Nicole moved closer to Tails as they walked in silence, arm in arm, lost in the moment.

Soon they found themselves standing alone in the middle of the empty street, lit up by gentle lamps that reflected in the closed windows of shops and cafes.

"S-so what now?" said Tails, for the first time in the evening he suddenly seemed uncertain.

Nicole looked at him with a coy smile. "Well it's just past twelve so I guess you should probably be starting work soon huh?"

Tails stopped and smiled, "Hmm, sounds like a lot of effort, maybe I could just let my lucky charm do it for me." He winked.

"I wouldn't push your luck." shot back Nicole with a smirk.

A minute passed as the lynx and the fox looked into each-other's eyes, spellbound in the soft moonlight.

Eventually Tails raised an eyebrow "You know, that day at the cafe... you never did tell me what you and Rotor were working on."

Nicole's heart was racing, her eyes bright; gripped by a thrilling, giddy feeling she drew herself closer and took Tail's hand with a cheeky grin. Leaning against him until her nose touched Tail's ear she paused for a moment, feeling her fox's pulse quicken, then whispered.

"Do you like the beach?"


End file.
